Project description
Understanding biological CO2 fixation pathways
Nature has developed various methods to fix CO2 and support biomass production. The Wood-Ljungdahl pathway (WLP) is the most straightforward biological CO2 fixation pathway, which uses two CO2 molecules to create acetyl-CoA, a metabolic intermediate that plays an important role in biomass formation. It is also the only pathway directly involved in energy conservation. The EU-funded Two-CO2-One project aims to gain comprehensive understanding of CO2 fixation and energy conservation in two organisms that thrive under conditions of extreme energy limitation in the absence of oxygen. These organisms, acetogenic bacteria and methanogenic archaea, rely on CO2 and hydrogen as their source of nutrition. The project will explore how these species use the WLP to fix CO2 and conserve energy.
Objective
Carbon dioxide (CO2) receives a lot of attention as a greenhouse gas that promotes human-induced climate change. On the other hand, CO2 is also the starting point for the production of virtually all biomass on our planet. Therefore, nature has developed sophisticated methods to fix CO2 and make it available for biochemical reactions. Of all known biological CO2 fixation pathways, the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway (WLP) is the simplest way to fix two CO2 molecules to form acetyl-CoA, the key metabolic intermediate for biomass formation. It is the only pathway directly related to energy conservation and regarded to be the be the most ancient.
The Two-CO2-One project aims to gain a comprehensive structural and mechanistic understanding of CO2 fixation and energy conservation in acetogenic bacteria and methanogenic archaea. These ecologically highly relevant organisms can live under conditions of extreme energy limitation in the absence of oxygen and feed exclusively on CO2 and hydrogen. I will elucidate how these species fix CO2 and conserve energy through their WLP by using the innovative structural approach of redox-guided cryogenic electron microscopy (Cryo-EM) to study the oxygen-sensitive metalloprotein machinery of the WLP. The mechanistic insights gained will be challenged by microbiological and genetic approaches in these anaerobic, non-standard model organisms.
Using autotrophic organisms that can sequester gaseous CO2 to produce biogas or ethanol from abundant waste gas resources is one way to reduce the human carbon footprint. Therefore, the Two-CO2-One project will not only lead to a deeper understanding of the unique mechanistic principles of WLP, but also provide new perspectives for developing biotechnological applications based on improved microbes that capture and sequester CO2 to produce industrially relevant chemicals and to combat human-induced climate change.
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 microbiology bacteriology
- natural sciences physical sciences optics microscopy
- natural sciences physical sciences astronomy planetary sciences planets
- natural sciences chemical sciences organic chemistry alcohols
- agricultural sciences agricultural biotechnology biomass
You need to log in or register to use this function
We are sorry... an unexpected error occurred during execution.
You need to be authenticated. Your session might have expired.
Thank you for your feedback. You will soon receive an email to confirm the submission. If you have selected to be notified about the reporting status, you will also be contacted when the reporting status will change.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
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.
-
HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme
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.
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.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
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.
(opens in new window) ERC-2022-STG
See all projects funded under this callHost institution
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.
35037 Marburg
Germany
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.