Skip to main content
Go to the home page of the European Commission (opens in new window)
English English
CORDIS - EU research results
CORDIS
Content archived on 2024-04-30

Developing Latin American fruits usin the yeast KLUYVEROMYCES MARXI ANUS and its pectinolytic enzyme endopolygalacturonase

Objective

The main objectives are as follows :
* To produce strains of Kluyveromyces marxianus that over-express the endopolygalacturonase (endo-PG) gene.
* To study and optimise cocoa fermentations using these strains.
* To produce the enzyme endo-PG from these strains.
* To study and optimise processing qualities of indigenous Latin American fruits using the endo-PG enzyme.
* To isolate yeasts from indigenous fruits with superior enzyme and fermentation characteristics.
Expected Outcome

The work carried out should enable existing cocoa fermentations to be optimised which will lead to the production of chocolate of more reliable and improved quality. Some under-exploited Latin American fruits will be developed and be brought to market initially as fruit juices. An enhanced range of microbiological strains will be both created and characterised for use in these and other fruit fermentation industries. A new and independent source of pectinase will be developed for food use on Latin American fruits.
The key activities envisaged are :
* Create endo-PG overproducer strains of K. marxianus by conventional means. Use these yeast strains to produce stable, dried yeast for use in cocoa fermentations on the farm. Clone and sequence the endo-PG gene and then overproduce the enzyme using genetic modification techniques for large-scale production purposes.
* Use both wet and dried modified yeast strains to study altered cocoa fermentations both in laboratory-scale experimental fermenters and in small-scale field trials and determine the physiological parameters to optimise the fermentation.
* Develop a production protocol that integrates, in one step, fermentation and purification using the genetically modified K. marxianus yeast strains for bulk enzyme production. Scale-up to produce food-grade, partially purified and concentrated endo-PG.
* Analyse the biochemical and organoleptic characteristics of eighteen indigenous Latin American fruits. Choose those with pectinaceous pulp and other desirable characteristics and determine their suitability for producing fruit juice (which will be tested in local consumer trials) as well as juice concentrate and fruit nectars.
* Investigate these fruits for their suitability for producing a fermented alcoholic beverage using natural microflora which will be isolated from these fruits and characterised.

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.

You need to log in or register to use this function

Topic(s)

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.

Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

Data not available

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.

CSC - Cost-sharing contracts

Coordinator

UNIVERSITY OF BATH
EU contribution
No data
Address
Claverton Down
BA2 7AY BATH
United Kingdom

See on map

Total cost

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.

No data

Participants (4)

My booklet 0 0