Objective
Can we re-construct the engine of natural CO2-fixation? Rubisco catalyzes the key reaction in photosynthesis: the capture and conversion of atmospheric CO2 into biomass. However, despite billions of years of evolution the enzyme is (still) constrained by a trade-off between CO2-fixation activity and CO2-specificity, which limits photosynthetic carbon capture, and thus directly agricultural yield.
In pro2neo-RUBISCO, we will overcome this fundamental limitation of photosynthetic CO2-fixation with a completely fresh approach. We will use an evolutionary-synthetic biology strategy to study the evolutionary history of Rubisco, derive a molecular understanding for the enzyme’s mechanism, and develop highly efficient, new-to-nature solutions that we will validate in a real-world context: the living chloroplast.
We will use ancestral reconstruction to replay crucial steps in the evolutionary history of the enzyme. We will resurrect the very first scaffolds that just learned to fix CO2 (“proto-Rubiscos”), and study Rubisco ancestors that started to loosely interact with an accessory small subunit. We will re-evolve these ancestral enzymes and provide them with artificial small subunits to open up new evolutionary paths leading to improved variants. These (r)evolutionary studies will be complemented by synthetic biology efforts: We will liberate Rubisco from its entropic constraints by separating the complex multi-step reaction onto different proteins that work in tandem, and go even one step further by re-inventing the enzyme’s scaffold, finding a new home for the Rubisco reaction and create a truly ”neo-Rubisco”.
Compared to many efforts in the field, pro2neo-RUBISCO does not screen for existing Rubiscos with improved kinetics or improving existing Rubiscos. In pro2neo-RUBISCO, we aim at (re)exploring the history and evolutionary landscape of Rubisco, and delivering completely novel architectures for the key driver of the global carbon cycle.
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.
- humanities history and archaeology history
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins enzymes
- natural sciences biological sciences botany
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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.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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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
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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-2023-ADG
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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.
80539 MUNCHEN
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.