Applied Molecular Bioprocess Control for Precision Fermentation-derived Products
The global food supply chain is facing several challenges due to population growth and climate change and its consequences. As a result, increased interest in alternative food production has led to a re-evaluation of established production processes based on fermentation. A new approach, called precision fermentation, is revolutionizing the food sector by diversifying the range of applications and products by developing optimized metabolic pathways and assembling the genes involved in microbial chassis. To achieve this, genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are being optimized for the heterologous production of alternative food proteins. A key avenue for improving the efficiency of bioprocesses is to decouple biomass and product formation, addressing the challenge posed by the inefficiency of recycling biomass, a common by-product.
For this task, RNA thermometers (RNAT) can be used as gene expression 'dimmer switches' for novel fermentation products. Typically located within the 5' untranslated region (5'UTR), RNAT adopts a hairpin-like structure that effectively masks the ribosome binding site (RBS) (Figure 1a). In response to temperature changes, conformational changes are induced leading to exposure of the RBS and initiation of translation (Figure 1b).
Therefore, the evaluation of an RNAT-based expression system at different laboratory scales and the establishment of a reference system with in-depth characterization using common bioprocessing parameters and methods is key (Figure 2).
Combining precision fermentation with a highly temperature-controlled bacterial RNAT-based expression system could lead to an efficient and optimized production process for novel, specific applications, such as animal-free proteins.
If you are an ambitious, passionate, and highly motivated student interested in working on cloning and bacterial cultivation or mathematical modeling of biological pathways, please contact christina.peternell(at)tum.de for further details. Applications for Bachelor's and Master's theses and research internships are welcome.
EggSPLORE: Egg Structural and function Protein Library using Optimized Recombinant Expression
The increasing demand for high-quality, animal-free proteins and concerns about the environmental impact of conventional egg production methods have led to the need for research into recombinant egg proteins. To date, plant-based replacements have not been able to fully replicate the functional properties of egg proteins, which play a crucial role in providing nutrients, antimicrobial and antioxidant properties, as well as physicochemical properties and texture in food products. Developing efficient methods for scalable production of recombinant egg proteins offer the potential to meet this demand and contribute to our future bioeconomy.
The EggSPLORE project aims to establish a platform for the recombinant production of selected egg yolk and egg white proteins in microbial systems. Explicitly, bacterial systems will be investigated due to their high potential in terms of efficiency and space-time yield for this group of proteins.
Core elements of this project include:
Development of successful expression systems with suitable production hosts and plasmids
Scale-up to a fully characterised bioreactor production process and its optimisation using model-based methods and adaptation of process control
Purification of the produced proteins and characterisation for their functional properties and suitability for use in food formulations
If you are an ambitious, passionate, and highly motivated student interested in working on cloning and bacterial cultivation or mathematical modeling of biological pathways, please contact fr.beck(at)tum.de for further details. Applications for Bachelor's and Master's theses and research internships are welcome.