Bioeconomy Science Center
Research and cooperation for a sustainable bioeconomy
Bioeconomy Science Center
Research and cooperation for a sustainable bioeconomy

SEED FUND 2.0: First projects completed

In 2018 and 2019 there were SEED FUND calls within the framework of phase 2 of the NRW strategy project BioSC. The OPEN Calls were without thematic restrictions while the LINK calls focused on topics related to the FocusLabs. A total of 10 projects were selected. The first three SEED FUND 2.0 OPEN projects were completed at the end of 2019 after a one-year term.

SEED FUND 2.0 - OPEN projects

iBiomass - Improve maize biomass for processing applying OrganoCat technology

Project coordination: Dr. Vera Göhre, Prof. Dr. Michael Feldbrügge, Microbiology, HHU Düsseldorf

Partners:

Dr. Vicente Ramirez; Prof. Dr. Markus Pauly, Plant Cell Biology and Biotechnology, HHU Düsseldorf

Prof. Walter Leitner, Technical and Petrol Chemistry, RWTH Aachen

Lignocellulose is an important raw material for sustainable processes in a commercially competitive bioeconomy. Since this material is recalcitrant to breakdown into its sugars for valorisation, the OrganoCat technology has been developed and tested on numerous plant species. So far, the raw material has always been derived from healthy plants, but it is important to understand how regularly occurring field infections alter this process.

Therefore the aim of the iBiomass project was to evaluate the impact of cell wall changes in corn brought about by infection on processing of the lignocellulose in the OrganoCat technology. Smut fungal infections were used as an example, since they occur at low incidence in corn fields in Germany, which is not detrimental to yield, but entails changes in downstream processing of the biomass e.g. in silage conditions. During the infection of seedlings, changes in the composition of the lignocellulose in the tumor mass could be detected. However, these did not dramatically impact on OrganoCat processing suggesting that the changes are tolerated by this chemical breakdown and fractionation. In the future it will be interesting to investigate infected material from field-grown plants to verify that the robustness of the OrganoCat against smut fungal infection holds true.

 

 

 

HySyn - Fatty acid photodecarboxylases for hydrocarbon synthesis

Project coordination: Dr. Ulrich Krauss, Prof. Dr. Karl-Erich Jaeger, Molecular Enzyme Technology, HHU Düsseldorf

Partners:
Prof. Dr. Björn Usadel, Botany and Molecular Genetics, RWTH Aachen
Dr. Holger Klose, Prof. Dr. Ulrich Schurr, IBG-2 Plant Sciences, Forschungszentrum Jülich

Alkanes and alkenes are one of the most important classes of hydrocarbons for the production of next-generation drop-in biofuels and plastics. In 2017, a new class of alkane/alkene synthesizing photoenzymes was discovered in the algae Chlorella variabilis and Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (fatty acid photodecarboxylases; FAPs). Despite their promise as efficient alkane/alkene-producing biocatalysts, important biotechnologically relevant properties remain largely uncharacterized and their phylogenetic distribution is unknown; hence alternative FAPs, with potentially superior biotechnologically-relevant properties, remain to be identified and explored. The HySyn project aimed at filling this gap.

Expression, purification and immobilization of one known FAP from Chlorella variabilis and one novel FAP of Cocomyxa subellipsoidea were optimized. The DNA sequence encoding the latter enzyme was identified by genome mining. Phylogenetic studies revealed, apart from numerous microalgal FAPs, a wealth of related sequences (annotated as choline dehydrogenases) in microbes. In addition, biomass for DNA extraction was produced from two different microalgal strains (Scenedesmus sp. and Chlorella sp.) which potentially could harbor superior FAP enzymes. The results obtained during this project help to accelerate the discovery and characterization of novel FAPs and pave the way towards application of this important new enzyme family for sustainable hydrocarbon production.

 

 

QuantiP -  P-quantification in vivo and in vitro by Raman spectroscopy and NMR

Project coordination: Dr. Anna Joëlle Ruff, Prof. Dr. Ulrich Schwaneberg, Biotechnology, RWTH Aachen

Partners:
Dr. Ladislav Nedbal, Dr. Christina Kuchenberg, Prof. Dr. Ulrich Schurr, IBG-2 Plant Sciences, Forschungszentrum Jülich
Dr. Sabine Willbold, Dr. Stephan Küppers, ZEA-3 Analytics, Forschungszentrum Jülich

Nutrient cycling has become a crucial factor in effective resource use in modern agriculture. The essential plant nutrient phosphor (P) is a finite resource gained almost exclusively by rock mining outside Europe, making European agriculture highly dependent. Additionally, considerable amounts of phosphate leach into water or accumulate in the soil as fixed inorganic P forms or as for plant and animals indigestible form (phytate), leading to significant impact on the environment.

The aim of the QuantiP project was to support the development of concepts for efficient P recovery by developing a new P quantification platform, specifically for P recovery from wastewater using algae and from agricultural residues such as rape press cake using special enzymes (phytases). Algae were grown under different P-supply conditions. Rapeseed press cakes were treated with an optimized phytase. In all sample materials 31P-NMR investigations successfully identified and quantified the different P-storage molecules (inositols, phosphates and polyphosphates). This allowed the P uptake and accumulation of polyphosphate in algae as well as the total P content in enzymatically treated rape press cake to be characterized.