Project description
How yeast can support renewable energy goals
RuBisCO, likely the most abundant protein on Earth, is a key enzyme present in many photosynthetic organisms including many bacteria, algae, and plants. It helps these organisms transform atmospheric carbon dioxide into energy-rich molecules such as glucose. Expressing RuBisCO in yeast, where it is not natively found, has also shown to enhance ethanol production by recapturing CO2 released during fermentation. Harnessing the activity of RuBisCO to sequester CO2 and produce bioethanol fuels remains a challenge due to the enzymeʻs exceedingly slow rate of reaction and poor selectivity for CO2, which has impeded productivity. Extensive efforts have been devoted to enhance enzyme activity using prokaryotic bacteria but have not been fruitful. InVivoRuBisCO is turning to in vivo-directed evolution in eukaryotic yeast (S. cerevisiae) to quickly and significantly boost RuBisCO activity. Success will enable industrially relevant levels of bioethanol production capable of contributing to the EU's sustainable future.
Objective
Global warming can be greatly mitigated by replacing fossil fuels with renewable solar energy. In one approach, researchers have combined solar water splitting with bacteria capable of consuming atmospheric CO2 and solar derived hydrogen to produce solar fuels. All CO2 fixed by these bacteria must go through the enzyme Ribulose 1,5-Bisphosphate Carboxylase/Oxygenase (RuBisCO). RuBisCO is the arbiter of photosynthesis and is the primary conduit linking carbon into the biosphere. However, the enzyme suffers from slow reactivity and poor selectivity for its primary substrate (CO2), making it the rate-limiting step for solar fuel synthesis and cell growth. To create an efficient and effective solar fuels process, any participatory enzymes need to have sufficiently high turnover rates to match the input of solar energy. A substantial breakthrough in this regard would be to develop an improved RuBisCO with enhanced turnover rate and selectivity. To date, directed evolution of RuBisCO has been hindered by traditional laboratory evolution techniques with prokaryotic hosts and yielded only marginal improvements in enzyme activity. To overcome evolutionary slowness and host inefficacies, I propose the in vivo directed evolution of RuBisCO in eukaryotic S. cerevisiae. This work will be divided into three parts: 1.) Designing a host organism that is dependent on RuBisCO activity through specific gene additions and deletions 2.) Develop a continuous directed evolution experiment to increase CO2 fixation, fidelity, and catalytic rate by applying selective pressures; and 3.) Isolate, propagate, and assay the resultant mutants, and test practical applications. The results of this work will serve to dramatically increase bioethanol yields through CO2 re-uptake and help achieve the European Commission's goal of using 25% biofuels in the transportation sector by 2030. This fellowship will enable the necessary research to usher in a clean and renewable future.
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 environmental engineering energy and fuels renewable energy solar energy
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology bacteriology
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences atmospheric sciences meteorology biosphera
- engineering and technology industrial biotechnology biomaterials biofuels
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins enzymes
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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.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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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.
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
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.
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.
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)
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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) H2020-MSCA-IF-2018
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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
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.