Why do bacteria produce natural substances, and which genes are responsible for this process? Professor Helge Bode and his team are searching for the answers to these questions using biochemical analytical methods on different bacteria. Among other research areas, they focus on insect-pathogenic bacteria. Due to their toxic metabolic products, bacteria such as Photorhabdus and Xenorhabdus have a deadly effect on soil-dwelling insect larvae. They enter the bodies of the insect larvae by means of their symbiosis with roundworms (nematodes), in whose intestines they live.