Descripción del proyecto
Fibras de algodón de color natural creadas mediante bioingeniería permiten una industria textil más ecológica
Las fibras de algodón comerciales son principalmente de varios tonos de blanco, pero también pueden tener un color amarillento debido a las malas condiciones ambientales durante el cultivo o el almacenamiento. Esta decoloración se elimina mediante blanqueo, coloración y otros procesos, lo que da lugar a un consumo elevado de agua y a la producción de efluentes peligrosos. En el proyecto Colour cotton, financiado con fondos europeos, se crearán fibras de algodón de color natural de alto valor ecológico mediante la infrarregulación de genes clave en la ruta de los fenilpropanoides para aumentar la blancura de la fibra. A través de la reorientación del flujo metabólico de la ruta de los fenilpropanoides hacia una de biosíntesis de la betalaína con expresión heteróloga, los investigadores diseñarán un nuevo algodón de color natural. Los productos resultantes representan una solución biotecnológica para una industria textil más respetuosa con el medio ambiente al reducir significativamente el impacto ambiental.
Objetivo
Cotton fibre is one of our most important textile resources. Most commercial cotton fibres are various shades of white but can be yellowish because of poor environmental conditions during growth or storage. A bleaching step is employed to address this issue during cotton fabric processing. After cotton fibre is spun into yarn, a dyeing process is applied to colour natural fibre to satisfy costumer’s demand. Additional industrial processes are needed to remove unfavourable natural colours and then add desirable colours to the yarn. Each step costs substantial amounts of energy but more importantly causes serious water and air pollution. More than 100 litres of water are required to dye one kilogram of cotton. The industrial effluents are rich in hazardous material. To address these issues, the proposed research will aim to bioengineer high value eco-friendly naturally coloured cotton fibre. Two overall strategies will be pursued. Firstly, by down-regulating key genes in the phenylpropanoid pathway, we aim to reduce fibre yellowish to increase fibre whiteness for the premium market. Second, by reorientating the metabolic flux from the phenylpropanoid pathway into a heterologously expressed betalain biosynthesis pathway, we aim to engineer novel natural colour cotton. The prospective products will significantly alleviate the environmental issues of the textile industry where 20% of global water pollution is produced and provide a biotechnological solution for a more environmentally friendly textile industry.
Ámbito científico
- engineering and technologymaterials engineeringcolors
- engineering and technologymaterials engineeringsynthetic dyes
- medical and health sciencesmedical biotechnologygenetic engineering
- engineering and technologymaterials engineeringtextiles
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringair pollution engineering
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Programa(s)
Régimen de financiación
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinador
CB2 1TN Cambridge
Reino Unido