Engineering of synthetic genetic circuits for dynamic pathway regulation in thermophiles
ID
MSCA-2020-EPeeters01
Supervisors
Project description
Industrial-scale microbial production of biochemicals and -fuels offers a sustainable alternative to the current petrochemical processes. However, many lab-scale engineering attempts to develop microbial cell factories fail in the upscaling phase because of the productivities, titers and yields still being too low. This bottleneck will be addressed in this competitive postdoctoral proposal by combining two innovative approaches: first, the use of a thermophilic host organism, which enables the development of a cost-effective high-temperature fermentation process and second, the introduction of metabolite-responsive regulation of gene expression. Starting from the fundamental study from natural (post-)transcriptional gene regulatory processes in thermophiles using genetic and genomic methodologies, biological parts, either riboswitches or transcription factors, will be harnessed to develop synthetic biology toolboxes that enable a predictable control of an engineered production pathway. In addition, novel genetic tools will be developed for the thermophilic host under study, such as efficient CRISPR-Cas based genome editing. Besides the engineering objective of improving productivities, this project will generate impact by developing synthetic biology insights, tools and parts that are more generally applicable for thermophile engineering for industrial biotechnology.
About the research Group
Research Group of Microbiology
The Research Group of Microbiology led by Prof. Eveline Peeters and Prof. Joske Ruytinx performs research in the fields of molecular microbiology, focusing on a variety of microorganisms -bacteria, archaea and fungi- with a special interest for extremophiles and plant-microbe interactions (mycorrhiza). Fundamental research questions are related to molecular mechanisms of genetic adaptation and the use of these insights for a transition to a more sustainable biobased industry.
We offer a dynamic and well-equipped research environment for state-of-the-art research in molecular microbiology and are interested in supporting the preparation of a competitive application for a MSCA postdoctoral fellowship in case a synergy can be created between the research profile and ambitions of the candidate and the research mission statement of the host research group. The abstracts presented on this website are only exemplary, please do not hesitate to contact us with your own ideas.
Website of the Research Group: https://micr.research.vub.be