POLYMODE

Novel Polysaccharide Modifying Enzymes to Optimise the Potential of Hydrocolloids for Food and Medical Applications

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'The PolyModE project convenes an international, interdisciplinary, and intersectorial consortium to identify, characterise, and optimise novel polysaccharide modifying enzymes, and to develop robust fermentation strategies for their large-scale production, to exploit the potential of biopolymers for food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and technical applications. We have selected the six complex carbohydrates with the highest current market share or expected future market potential, namely alginate, carrageenan, chitosan, glycosaminoglycan, pectin, and xanthan gum. For each of these, the industrial partners have identified those enzymes which will answer to the most pressing needs or offer the most promising potential for improved production of polysaccharides with novel physico-chemical properties and biological functionalities. Primary targets will be alginate epimerases, carrageenan sulfatases, chitosan de-acetylases, glycosaminoglycan sulfatases, pectin de-acetylases, and xanthan gum de-acetylases. These enzymes together with secondary target enzymes, e.g. sequence specific lyases and hydrolases, will allow the generation and analysis of polymers and oligomers with novel, non-random patterns of modification. Two parallel approaches will be followed for each type of polysaccharide modifying enzyme, namely a knowledge-based genomic approach and a broad, un-biased metagenomic approach, e.g. using soil or sludge samples with a history of contact with the polysaccharide in question. A pipeline of three levels of fermentation systems will be established, ranging from lab-scale innovative expression systems with features shaped according to the specific characteristics of our target enzymes, through medium-scale, novel and unusual fermentation systems provided by a number of SME with highly specialised knowledge and expertise in developing and using such systems, to the established large-scale fermentation systems and facilities of market leaders in White Biotechnology.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

Novel enzymes that are able to chemically modify polysaccharides have been developed. Such biological catalysts can improve on the current methods of synthesising sugar compounds.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

Polysaccharides are used extensively in Europe in many industrial applications, including for food and pharmaceutical products. Many of these sugar polymers need to be modified via chemical means in order to improve their end-use properties. However, the methods used for this are normally extremely complex, time-consuming, and expensive.

The EU-funded Polymode project is seeking to use enzymes to optimise the potential of hydrocolloids for food and medical applications. Hydrocolloids are systems in which the colloid or microscopic particles are 'water-loving' polymers dispersed in water.

The aim of the Polymode researchers is to identify and characterise the enzymes or specialised proteins used by nature to synthesise high-quality polysaccharides. These new enzymes can then be optimised using state-of-the-art molecular genetic methods.

Two parallel project approaches were followed to identify novel genes: a knowledge-based genomic approach and a broad unbiased metagenomic (i.e. genomics on a huge scale) one. The latter approach is based upon the use of soil or sludge samples with a history of contact with a polysaccharide, such as chitin, which is being studied.

The Polymode project has already yielded one enzyme with a novel combination of properties never described before. This is now under further investigation and will be patent-protected, if possible, prior to publication.

Another gene identified has been converted (using protein engineering) into an analytical tool to reveal the presence of chitosan in natural samples. Chitosan, a versatile polymer used in biomedical applications, is obtained from the chemical treatment of chitin found in the shells of crabs, shrimps and lobsters.

Further work is continuing in the Polymode project on enzymes derived from these and other new genes the researchers have identified. These novel biocatalysts are now being analysed for their ability to generate new polysaccharides.