In line with Annex 1 of the Grant Agreement, the work carried out during the reporting period has been focused on the deeper understanding of the regulatory pathways involved in the production of PHAs, in two distinct gram-negative bacterial species (S. meliloti and P. putida). While the study of RNases during the reporting period has shed new light on the regulatory mechanisms for PHAs production, the novel synthetic RNA dual-system (described in Annex 1) could not be developed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent restrictions at workplaces. To compensate for the lack in the achievement of this objective, corrective actions were required. Consequently, transcriptome analysis of S. meliloti was implemented in addition to the initially planned in P. putida. This deviation in the initial work plan has allowed us to further understand the contribution of RNases in the regulation of both organisms, what can be used to increase industrial yields, and therefore significantly contribute to reducing the costs of scaling-up PHAs.
The plan described in the Grant Agreement defined the dissemination of results in public and international sectors, furthermore for the development of my communication skills and for the extension of collaborations. In this regard, I have participated in the international congress ECBB 2021 (Euro-Global Conference on Biotechnology and Bioengineering;
https://biotechnology-conferences.magnusgroup.org/speaker/alexandra-peregrina-lav-n(öffnet in neuem Fenster)). Initially, the event was planned to be in-person but finally switched to virtual format due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The finances of this project have been used for the inscription in the ECBB 2022, which will take place in June 2022.
I was selected to participate in the annual European communication event Science is Wonderful!, in 2019 Brussels (Belgium), with a stand named Fantastic Bioplastics. This event was addressed to multiple types of audiences, and more than 5.000 people took part in it. All costs were beard by the European Commission, including the delivery of the necessary material for our stand. The host institute (ITQB NOVA) promoted this exhibition through its webpage, where our participation was described:
https://www.itqb.unl.pt/news/europe-celebrating-science(öffnet in neuem Fenster). In the frame of that exposition, I was invited to the Second European Education Summit, in which I imparted a Workshop called “Creating a healthy environment in the classroom - Make an impact with ‘bioplastics”:
https://ec.europa.eu/education/second-summit_en(öffnet in neuem Fenster). These costs were beard by the European Commission as well.
As planned in the DoA, I have used some of my personal/profesional social media accounts to communicate the most recent results and relevant news in science, especially related to this project (
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Alexandra_Peregrina_Lavin(öffnet in neuem Fenster); www.linkedin.com/in/alexandra-peregrina-lavín;@Alexita_PL). My participation in the event organized by the EU, Science is Wonderful! 2019, was in the press release by the host institute (
https://www.itqb.unl.pt/news/europe-celebrating-science(öffnet in neuem Fenster)). Likewise, my contribution was also captured in videos and photographs taken during this exhibition by the organizers.
For the time being, one Review in the frame of this project has been funded and published in both, open-access journal (
https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/11/8/853/htm(öffnet in neuem Fenster)) and preprint server (
https://www.preprints.org/manuscript/202108.0426/v1(öffnet in neuem Fenster)). The writing of two Research Articles is currently ongoing including the results obtained along with this project, which we expect to be published during 2022. In accordance with EU policies and as described in the GA, this intellectual property will be available within the scientific community at open-access journals and preprint servers. Funding from the MSCA action will be acknowledged.
