Summary

Phosphate is a main component of fertilizers and therefore essential to feed humankind. Recycling concepts for phosphorus are a key request to ensure a self-sustaining food production in Europe and to avoid rapid depletion of concentrated natural deposits. Renewable resources like meal from food oil manufacturing are locally produced in NRW, available in significant quantities and of high potential for circular P-economy. ScreenP will contribute to phosphate stewardship by developing a product specific screening system, which will strengthen phytase engineering. An increased phytase expression redirects carbon flux and energy consumption from biomass formation to protein production. These dynamics can be monitored via Pichia Pastoris respiratory activity and used for the development of a novel high-throughput screening method. This novel screening assay will increase the screening abilities and the rate of identifying improved variants. Additionally, the product specific detection by NMR ensure to identify hits. The screening system developed in ScreenP will foster enzyme engineering and enable tailor made phytases for industrial applications (food, feed, P-management).