Objective
Most microorganisms in nature live under conditions where their growth and multiplication are limited by the nutrient supply. Growth under conditions of abundant nutrient supply is rare and short-lived. On the other hand, most experimental research on the physiology and biochemistry of microorganisms has been conducted with cultures growing rapidly under conditions of abundant nutrient supply. As a result our knowledge of their behaviour under conditions of nutrient starvation or limitation is very limited. In many biotechnological processes with micro-organisms nutrient starvation and/or limitation phases constitute an essential part of the process. The fundamental knowledge to improve the behaviour of the microorganism during these phases with respect to the final goal of the biotechnological process is therefore nearly always lacking.
The general goal of this project is to improve the knowledge concerning the response of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae to nutrient starvation. This yeast is both an important model and industrial microorganism. For most commercial applications of yeast high fermentation capacity is essential. Under starvation conditions there is a general decline in the fermentation capacity. This project will investigate the molecular basis for this loss of fermentation capacity and will construct strains that maintain a better fermentation capacity during starvation.
The first objective will be to determine the fate of the glucose carriers under starvation conditions and to construct a strain with a better maintenance of its glucose transport capacity during starvation.
The second objective will be to identify components of the glycolytic chain that contribute to the decline of fermentation capacity and to engineer strains in such a way that these components are stronger expressed or more stable under starvation conditions.
The third objective will be the characterisation of nitrogen transport under conditions of nitrogen depletion or limitation in order to determine the role of residual nitrogen supply in the maintenance of fermentation capacity. The fourth objective will be to understand the role of trehalose and glycogen during starvation by studying the maintenance of fermentation capacity in strains with different levels and/or a deficient mobilization. The fifth objective will be to elucidate the role of important signalling molecules in the metabolic response to nutrient starvation. To study the role of ATP, two novel approaches will be used which should enable to uncouple the ATP supply from the carbon supply, allowing a precise determination of the role of ATP in the loss of fermentation capacity. Mutants in cAMP and fructose-2,6-bisphosphate metabolism will be used to determine the possible role of these regulatory molecules in the decline of fermentation capacity. The main outcome of the project will be a thorough knowledge of the factors responsible for the loss of fermentation capacity during starvation, knowledge of experimental approaches to counteract this loss and the availability of laboratory and possibly industrial strains with a better maintenance of fermentation capacity under starvation conditions.
The results of this project will be directly important for the baker's yeast industry where a nitrogen starvation phase is introduced during production to enhance stress resistance but penalizing the fermentation capacity, for the wine fermentation industry where most of the fermentation occurs under nitrogen starvation conditions accompanied by a variable, undesired drop in fermentation capacity, for the beer brewing and distilled liquor industry where most of the fermentation occurs under nitrogen-limited conditions and is strongly influenced by the residual nitrogen supply.
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 biological sciences biochemistry
- medical and health sciences basic medicine physiology
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology
- engineering and technology industrial biotechnology bioprocessing technologies fermentation
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Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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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.
Coordinator
40530 GOETEBORG
Sweden
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.