#	Pagina
attuale pagina	/open-h2020/projects/212829/results.html

Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - OLEFINE (OLEAginous yeast platforms for FINE chemicals)

Teaser

Summary

OLEFINE will enable wide-spread use of pheromones, which can substitute insecticides in agricultural pest management. With the global population expected to exceed 9 billion by 2050, and concerns growing over the unsustainability of chemical insecticides use, there is a need for safe eco-friendly alternatives for crop protection. Currently, pheromones are produced by chemical synthesis from petroleum-derived chemicals and are too expensive to compete with conventional insecticide spays. Consequently, despite the decades of research demonstrating the efficacy and sustainability of pheromone-based pest control techniques , they currently only address niche markets, such as protection of high-value fruits and vegetables, including the organic produce. OLEFINE will optimize the biotechnological production method of pheromones, based on oleaginous platform yeast cell factory, bringing down the cost of pheromones to the level, where they will become an attractive solution also for the large areas of row crops.

The overall objective of OLEFINE is to demonstrate the techno-economic viability and sustainability of biologically produced insect pheromones as safe and environmentally friendly insecticide substitutes. Bio-based process will overcome the limitations of the current production of pheromones by chemical synthesis from petrochemical feedstocks. As the result, the pheromones will be produced at a reduced cost and with low environmental footprint, and will revolutionize the pest control in agriculture and forestry. The global market for pheromone-based Integrated Pest Management (IPM) products is at â‚¬1.6 billion per annum and growing rapidly, but market growth is limited by the high price of chemically produced pheromones. Biological production of cheaper pheromones will be a market disrupting technology that will allow rapid expansion of pheromone-based pest management products. The partners behind OLEFINE have developed a novel technology for biological production of pheromones using oleaginous yeast cell factories. During the project the strains, fermentation and downstream processes need to be further optimized and scaled-up to bring the technology to the market.

Work performed

The main accomplishment of the project in the 1st reporting period has been the development of a highly efficient yeast strain for the production of the first target pheromone product. The fermentation process development for this product has progressed significantly enabling initiation of laboratory and field trials testing the efficacy of the product. There has also been significant progress towards identification and optimization of pathways to other target pheromones including establishment of the relevant insect colonies, elucidation of enzymes in the production pathways, screening and optimization of enzymes and implementation of the pathways in the production platform strain. The project has also established the relevant technology platforms needed to develop pheromone production processes ranging from genomic characterization of the platform strains to high throughput enzyme activity screening methods, and to tools for testing the efficacy of the pheromone products in laboratory settings. Finally, the project has established the framework for techno-economic and life cycle analyses that can be used to evaluate economic and environmental sustainability of pheromone production and application in agriculture.

Final results

The progress in the main aim of the project - bio-based production of insect pheromones - has been rapid. This has allowed moving the first products to laboratory and field testing and will accelerate commercialization of the products. The project has attracted widespread attention due to its potential to significantly impact agricultural sustainability in the EU and globally and it is expected that the project will achieve its intended socio-economic impacts in the near and long term.