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Enlisting synthetic fungal-bacterial consortia to produce multi-cellular mycelium-based ELMs with computational capability

Project description

Combining fungi and bacteria into novel biomaterials

Engineered living materials (ELMs) are composed of living cells endowing them with unique properties and functions. ELMs have received great attention in the materials science field due to their tuneability and potential for sustainable production. Funded by the European Innovation Council, the Fungateria project aims to generate an innovative portfolio of ELMs that combine fungi with bacteria. Materials based on fungi are most commonly produced by growing the vegetative part of mushroom – the mycelium – on different organic substrates. The mycelium will be combined with bacteria that serve as a chassis for sensor-containing genetic circuits. The resultant ELMs will exhibit advanced functionalities and inducible degradation when no longer needed.

Objective

Fungateria addresses a development gap in mycelium-based ELMs by developing a portfolio of ELMs that are composed of a synthetic co-cultivation consortium of a filamentous fungus and a bacterial strain. Sensing and adaptive growth of the fungal hyphae are exploited to develop an autonomous bottom-up and scalable manufacturing technology called Growth Composing (GC) that enables an engineered morphogenesis of mycelium materials using robotically controlled spray nozzles that generate local air, gas or aerosol flows steering hyphal growth. In addition, bioprinting is used to deposit inocula of the engineered bacterial strain in specific patterns and at specific times throughout the production process. Various ELM products are developed, ranging from consumer goods to applications in the environmental and construction sector, which become active through environmental cues of light, temperature and chemical attractants. To this end, synthetic biology engineering will be implemented to use the bacterial strain as a chassis for sensor-containing genetic circuits that render advanced functionalities to the ELM throughout its life cycle, either through direct activity or by influencing growth and morphology of the fungal partner. ELM activity is verified with probes that reveal bio-electric signaling in the materials - providing additional dimensions of control, monitoring, functionality and exploitation as actively computing devices. When no longer needed or having reached the end of their productive life, kill switches are activated either by human-controlled environmental triggers or triggers of the system itself, thereby causing the ELM to fully and quickly degrade without causing any negative environmental impact. Throughout the Fungateria project, a societal dialogue will be established to continuously align research objectives with ethical and regulatory requirements.

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Topic(s)

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HORIZON-EIC - HORIZON EIC Grants

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Call for proposal

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(opens in new window) HORIZON-EIC-2021-PATHFINDERCHALLENGES-01

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Coordinator

DET KONGELIGE DANSKE KUNST-AKADEMISSKOLER FOR ARKITEKTIR, DESIGN OG KONSERVERING
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 845 376,00
Address
PHILIP DE LANGES ALLE 10
1435 Kobenhavn
Denmark

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Region
Danmark Hovedstaden Byen København
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

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.

€ 845 376,25

Participants (5)

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