Objective
Our current society depends on many natural resources, and the availability of these natural resources (minerals, fossil fuels) is becoming more and more limited. The challenge of a sustainable and biobased economy is to develop innovative technologies to recover and reuse minerals and energy-rich compounds from waste streams and non-food agricultural crops. Microorganisms can be exploited for biotechnological purposes.
The aim of this project is to study novel anaerobic microorganisms that:
1. Degrade and grow with biopolymers (polysaccharides and lipids),
2. Produce high value products (succinate and long chain fatty acids),
3. Possess a metabolism that can be steered by hydrogen and/or electricity.
Microbial diversity represents an enormous reservoir of novel catalysts that can be exploited for a biobased economy. Molecular ecological research has shown that the majority (> 95 %) of the microorganisms in Nature has not yet been cultured and characterized. Their function in geochemical cycles is unknown and their biotechnological potential unexploited. This also applies for methanogenic environments in which organic matter is converted to methane and carbon dioxide, via energy rich organic intermediates. Our understanding of the microbial interactions that take place in methane formation is still scarce, especially how fermentations are influenced by hydrogen. In methanogenic environments fermentative anaerobes are present that produce valuable organic compounds, which should be exploited.
Novel anaerobes can be isolated by intelligent and innovative isolation approaches, such as the MicroDish method. This method is currently adapted in my group for high throughput screening of strict anaerobes. The genomes of selected strains will be sequenced, followed by proteomics to obtain insight into their physiology to optimize the formation of valuable compounds. Such novel anaerobes will become the pillars of new biotechnological activities in Europe.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules lipids
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules carbohydrates
- social sciences economics and business economics bioeconomy
- natural sciences chemical sciences organic chemistry aliphatic compounds
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
ERC-2012-ADG_20120314
See other projects for this call
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Host institution
6708 PB Wageningen
Netherlands
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.