FUNBIO

Fungi in white biotechnology: Expression of novel lignocellulose degrading enzymes

 Coordinatore HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO 

 Organization address address: YLIOPISTONKATU 4
city: HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO
postcode: 14

contact info
Titolo: Ms.
Nome: Katariina
Cognome: Vainio-Mattila
Email: send email
Telefono: 358504000000
Fax: 358919000000

 Nazionalità Coordinatore Finland [FI]
 Totale costo 30˙000 €
 EC contributo 30˙000 €
 Programma FP7-PEOPLE
Specific programme "People" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013)
 Code Call FP7-PEOPLE-2010-RG
 Funding Scheme MC-ERG
 Anno di inizio 2011
 Periodo (anno-mese-giorno) 2011-03-01   -   2013-02-28

 Partecipanti

# participant  country  role  EC contrib. [€] 
1    HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO

 Organization address address: YLIOPISTONKATU 4
city: HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO
postcode: 14

contact info
Titolo: Ms.
Nome: Katariina
Cognome: Vainio-Mattila
Email: send email
Telefono: 358504000000
Fax: 358919000000

FI (HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO) coordinator 30˙000.00

Mappa


 Word cloud

Esplora la "nuvola delle parole (Word Cloud) per avere un'idea di massima del progetto.

litter    biocatalysts    univ    peroxidase    waste    bisporus    ability    recombinant    lignocelluloses    distinct    manganese    fungal    funbio    agaricus    techniques    biotechnology    characterised    abundant    soil    industrial    uhel    laccases    mushroom    energy    fungi    degrading    isolated    lac    applicant    materials    enzyme    renewable    explaining    models    fungus    nottingham    feasible    breakdown    protein    agricultural    lignocellulosic    found    chemicals    wood    expression    showed    selected    employed    decomposition    resource    species    efficient    lignocellulose    white    lignin    organisms    enzymes    cloned   

 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'White Biotechnology consists of modern applications for the sustainable processing and production of chemicals, materials and energy. It uses whole organisms and enzymes to synthesize products that are easily degradable, require less energy and create less waste during their production. Various agricultural, agro-industrial and forestry lignocellulosic residues are known to have a huge potential as cheap and renewable feedstocks for production of bioenergy and the opportunity of co-producing valuable-added chemicals. Lignocellulose represents the most abundant renewable organic resource. For the efficient decomposition of lignocellulose fungi utilise a set of hydrolytic and oxidative enzymes recognized as economically viable and environmentally friendly industrial biocatalysts. To make industrial applications feasible,an efficient production system for these enzymes would be needed. This project focuses on the science underlying the use of lignocellulosic materials in biotechnological applications. To further enhance our understanding of decomposition of lignocellulose by fungal enzymes, the project focus on the characterisation and heterologous production of new lignocellulose decomposing enzymes. These enzymes will be isolated, biochemically characterized and corresponding genes will be cloned and expressed in selected host organisms. Recombinant protein expression techniques in ascomycetes are not yet in use for the basidiomycete enzymes in the Univ. of Helsinki (UHel) thus setting-up these techniques will be of great importance. The combination of skills gained by the applicant during her MC Fellowship at the Univ of Nottingham and the excellent facilities at UHel make the project feasible and the project outputs will underpin the future career development of the applicant. The project will enhance continuation of collaboration between Nottingham and UHel in a research area which is competitive and has increasing need for collaborations and inter-disciplinarity.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

Dry plant material, also known as biomass or lignocelluloses, represents the most abundant resource on Earth for the production of biofuels. Enzymes used by fungi to breakdown lignocelluloses can also act as cost-efficient and environment-friendly industrial biocatalysts.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

The EU-funded 'Fungi in white biotechnology: Expression of novel lignocellulose degrading enzymes' (FUNBIO) project was established to gain insight into lignocellulose-degrading enzymes. Researchers produced and characterised new fungal enzymes for breaking down lignocelluloses and developed recombinant protein expression techniques for mushroom (basidomycete) fungal enzymes.

Different species of lignin-degrading white rot fungi were used as model organisms. Physisporinus rivulosis, a highly selective fungal species that decomposes softwoods was selected for converting woodchips to paper in biopulping industry.

Researchers cloned and characterised two heat-tolerant enzymes called laccases. The first enzyme, Lac1, showed thermal activation for oxidation of phenolic substrates, an ability that had only been previously recorded in a few laccases. Structural models of Lac1 and Lac2 showed differences in amino acid composition possibly explaining the distinct catalytic properties of enzymes. Researchers found that the production of lignin peroxidase, manganese peroxidase and laccase increased when wood was employed as a carbon source for P. Radiate.

Agaricus bisporus (common or button mushroom), is the most commercially available edible fungus. This fungus is ideal for growing on agricultural lignocellulose waste and in soil litter due to its ability to grow in humus-rich leaf litter. FUNBIO researchers sequenced the genome of A. Bisporus and used computer models to study the enzymes involved in degrading lignin. The heme-thiolate-peroxidase enzymes employed by this mushroom were distinct from wood-degrading fungi explaining its ability to breakdown lignin and related metabolites found in soil litter.

Project partners also studied the nutritional demands for enzyme production and mycelial growth in six genetically isolated wild species of mushroom from the genus Agaricus. Transcriptome data obtained from compost cultures of A. Bisporus revealed the importance of both manganese peroxidases and multicopper oxidases while growing on lignocelluloses.

The work of FUNBIO will have a significant socioeconomic impact by furthering the development of industrial biotechnology in Europe. In addition, it has helped educate and train biotechnologists of the future and raised the research group's international profile.

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