Descripción del proyecto
Un método de producción de vainillina natural respetuoso con el medio ambiente
Casi toda la vainillina empleada en el mundo por los sectores de la alimentación y las fragancias se produce mediante síntesis química. Sin embargo, su demanda está disminuyendo debido a que su producción precisa de un uso excesivo de recursos fósiles y disolventes. Por lo tanto, se requiere un método de producción de vainillina natural a gran escala que permita obtener mayores cantidades en menos tiempo y a un coste menor. En el proyecto BELLOSSOM, financiado con fondos europeos, se emplearán organismos modificados genéticamente para la producción rentable y escalable de vainillina natural. El objetivo es desarrollar una cepa de fábrica celular microbiana mediante el empleo de tecnologías de vanguardia de la biología de sistemas y la modelización «in silico». Para ello se empleará una nueva estrategia de modelización de dinámica molecular basada en simulaciones tridimensionales de proteínas y herramientas de diseño informático de enzimas.
Objetivo
Vanillin is the second most expensive spice globally (€11.000/kilo) and used compound in fragrances and food industry. Over 99% of all vanillin is chemically synthesised. However, market demand for chemically synthesized vanillin is declining due to the excessive use of fossil resources and solvents that severely impact the environment. However, the production of natural vanillin is limited (<1%) due to natural disasters, the limited capacity and high costs. This shows the strong societal, industrial and environmental need for an innovative, cheap and scalable production method for natural vanillin. Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are a suitable alternative to produce vanillin from natural substrates; the resulting product is classified as natural vanillin under European and US food legislation. However, conventional genetic engineering methods have strong technological limitations.
EV Biotech aims to revolutionize conventional biotechnology by developing an innovative microbial cell factory (MCF) strain using innovative technologies from systems biology and in silico modelling. To achieve this, EV Biotech envisions a novel molecular dynamics modelling strategy based on 3D protein simulations and computational enzyme design tools to redesign these enzymes. In fact, the development of this molecular dynamics model for proteins is critical for the overall proof-of-concept and success of BELLOSSOM. However, the team lacks a PhD-level scientist who has specialized knowledge of molecular dynamics modelling of proteins/enzymes. EV Biotech plans to exploit three business opportunities by recruiting an Innovation Associate: (1) a lack in the market for large-scale natural vanillin production methods, (2) the industrial demand for MCF with higher production rates of natural compounds, and reduced time and costs for their development, and (3) the addition of a molecular dynamics model for proteins in the production pipeline to enhance the current market position.
Ámbito científico
Programa(s)
Convocatoria de propuestas
Consulte otros proyectos de esta convocatoriaConvocatoria de subcontratación
H2020-INNOSUP-2020-02
Régimen de financiación
CSA-LSP - Coordination and support action Lump sumCoordinador
9747AA Groningen
Países Bajos
Organización definida por ella misma como pequeña y mediana empresa (pyme) en el momento de la firma del acuerdo de subvención.