Project description
A new type of starter culture bacteria in the dairy market
Bacteriophages (informally known as phages) are viruses that kill bacteria. During dairy fermentation, infection by phages is a major cause of starter culture failure. In fact, phage infection of lactic acid bacteria fermentative cultures causes incomplete or delayed fermentation processes in the dairy industry. About 1 in 10 fermentation processes fail due to culture infection by phages. In this context, the ERC-funded ProtectedDairy project proposes novel defence systems that confer strong resistance against multiple types of phages. These new systems do not impair the normal growth of bacteria. The project will design non-genetically modified prototype lactic acid bacteria that are strongly protected against phage infection.
Objective
Milk and its fermentation derivatives, yogurt and cheese, are globally consumed at rates of >750 million tonnes annually, and are responsible for ~10% of the protein consumption worldwide. In the process of yogurt and cheese production, starter cultures of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are added to milk, leading to fermentative production of the end product. Optimal growth of the lactic acid bacteria within the milk is critical for high-quality fermentation in the manufacturing of such dairy products.
During fermentation, growth of starter culture bacteria is frequently impaired by viruses (phages) that infect these bacteria. Phage infection of lactic acid bacteria fermentative cultures is the main cause for incomplete or delayed fermentation processes in the dairy industry, and it is estimated that 10% of dairy fermentation processes fail due to culture infection by phage. This puts an extensive financial burden on the yogurt and cheese industries, a market estimated at >$80B annually. There is therefore a strong need for tools that would protect lactic acid bacteria from phage infection during the fermentation process.
In our ERC-funded project we discovered novel defense systems that confer strong resistance against multiple types of phages. We showed that our systems do not impair normal growth of bacteria, and provide efficient phage-resistance features, conferring protection against a broad range of phages. Within the current PoC project we will harness our discoveries to develop non-GMO prototype lactic acid bacteria that are strongly protected against phage infection. This prototype is expected to demonstrate highly resilient, enhanced starter culture bacteria that will have superior durability and resistance over currently available starter culture bacteria used in the market.
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 chemical sciences organic chemistry organic acids
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology bacteriology
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology virology
- agricultural sciences animal and dairy science dairy
- engineering and technology industrial biotechnology bioprocessing technologies fermentation
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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.
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H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
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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.
ERC-POC - Proof of Concept Grant
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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-2018-PoC
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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.
7610001 Rehovot
Israel
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.