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Understanding and Postponing Yeast Death to Improve Production

Project description

Understanding yeast cell death under industrial conditions

Yeasts are model organisms in cell biology and are used for the sustainable production of compounds. They can undergo regulated cell death (RCD), which negatively affects industrial yields. However, the mechanisms of this process remain poorly understood. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the UPsYDe project aims to study yeast cell death under industrial conditions and engineer RCD pathways and process conditions to enhance production. It will train doctoral candidates focusing on four yeast species: Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Komagataella phaffii, Yarrowia lipolytica and Debaryomyces hansenii, involving both start-ups and major biotechnology industries. Expected outcomes include new rapid screening techniques for cell death, advanced metabolic models, improved yeast strains and more sustainable bioprocesses.

Objective

Yeasts are model organisms for eukaryal cell biology studies but are also used to sustainably produce a large variety of compounds. Although unicellular, death spares no one and yeast can undergo regulated cell death (RCD) in response to a wide variety of intra and extracellular signals. In industrial processes, the occurrence of yeast RCD negatively impacts yields and production rates. How yeast cells die under these conditions is however hardly studied nor understood. UPsYDe aims to decipher how yeast cells die under industrial conditions and engineer RCD pathways to postpone cell death and improve production, while simultaneously training the 13 doctoral candidates needed to tackle this kind of challenges. This requires a synergetic approach combining fundamental cell biology, bioprocess engineering, yeast physiology, and systems and synthetic biology. Four different yeast species, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Komagataella phaffii, Yarrowia lipolytica and Debaryomyces hansenii, will be studied and engineered in a consortium of 7 beneficiaries and 15 associated partners varying from start-up companies to major biotechnology industries. This consortium offers all the expertise and methodology needed and provides the DCs with a highly diverse, multidisciplinary and intersectorial training plan across Europe. Expected outcomes are novel (rapid) screening techniques to detect cell death phenotypes on site, advanced genome-scale metabolic models, improved yeast strains and more sustainable and profitable yeast bioprocesses. In addition, UPsYDe will deliver the next-generation scientists capable of integrating different knowledge fields to lead the full transition to a sustainable bioeconomy, in academia or industry.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

Keywords

Programme(s)

Topic(s)

Funding Scheme

HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-DN - HORIZON TMA MSCA Doctoral Networks

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Call for proposal

(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2024-DN-01

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Coordinator

WAGENINGEN UNIVERSITY
Net EU contribution
€ 915 857,28
Address
DROEVENDAALSESTEEG 4
6708 PB Wageningen
Netherlands
Region
Oost-Nederland Gelderland Veluwe
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Links
Total cost
No data

Participants (6)

Partners (16)