Project description
'Super' yeasts maintain (re)productivity in industrial settings
Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is the so-called energy currency of cells. ATP molecules are like small batteries, storing energy in their very high-energy bonds. When these bonds are broken, the energy released can be used to fuel essential cellular processes including intracellular signalling, DNA and RNA synthesis and active transport. ATP is essential to growth and reproduction, so the more the merrier when that is a key goal. Yeasts are single-celled organisms critical to many industrial processes. However, a process called the 'Crabtree effect' causes them to switch from aerobic respiration to anaerobic, resulting in an 8- to 9-fold decrease in their ATP production, significantly slowing growth. The EU-funded SUPERYEAST project is on the trail of genes that will minimise this switching response, opening the door to significantly enhanced yeast growth and their industrial productivity.
Objective
"The common baker's yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, is used in various industrial applications, ranging from the production of fermented beverages like beer and wine, foods including bread and chocolate, bioethanol, enzymes and pharmaceuticals.
S. cerevisiae cells can grow aerobically, using the TCA cycle and electron transport chain to produce around 16 to 18 molecules of ATP (energy) per glucose molecule. However, when glucose concentrations exceed about 1% (w/w), the cells tend to shut down this respiratory mechanism in favour of alcoholic fermentation, even if this metabolic route only yields 2 ATP molecules per glucose consumed. This so-called ""Crabtree effect"" makes it difficult to efficiently cultivate industrial yeasts in large-scale industrial fermenters because maximal biomass yield is only obtained in conditions where glucose concentrations are kept below the critical limit for activation of the Crabtree effect, but high enough to allow maximal growth. Interestingly, however, some S. cerevisiae strains seem to be less sensitive to glucose inhibition of respiration than others, suggesting that certain natural strains harbour specific alleles that make them less subjected to Crabtree repression.
In our ongoing ERC CoG, we have shown that besides limiting efficient biomass formation, the Crabtree effect also decreases the efficiency with which strains can metabolize industrial media. Moreover, we identified an as yet uncharacterised gene, YLR108C, that controls the glucose level at which respiration becomes repressed. Our preliminary results show that swapping natural alleles of YLR108C changes the level of glucose at which the Crabtree repression starts.
In this PoC, we propose to use our findings to generate superior industrial yeasts that combine optimal industrial fermentation performance with more efficient biomass production. To avoid generating GM strains, we will use natural breeding and/or self-cloning techniques."
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.
- engineering and technology other engineering and technologies food technology
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy pharmaceutical drugs
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins enzymes
- agricultural sciences agricultural biotechnology biomass
- engineering and technology industrial biotechnology bioprocessing technologies fermentation
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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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H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)
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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
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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-2020-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.
9052 ZWIJNAARDE - GENT
Belgium
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