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H2020Doctoral network2017–2021

MossTech · Advanced use of mosses for biotechnological solutions

Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Duration
2017-10-01 → 2021-12-31
EU contribution
€1,559,676
Participants
7
Scheme
MSCA-ITN-EID

Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.

Results in brief

Advanced use of mosses for biotechnological solutions

MossTech will expand the tools for green biotechnology. By using the simplest land plants, the mosses, MossTech will develop new green cell factories for the production of proteins, lipids and fine chemicals. MossTech are training six highly qualified ESRs in modern biotechnology with the focus on expanding the use of green cells for biotechnological applications. The consortium of three universities, one research institution and three companies together provides a strong background for training in scientific and transferable skills. The species and chemical diversity in Northern European mosses is very high; this allows MossTech to look for novel sources for valuable lipids, terpenoids and other chemicals. This will lead to new products to be developed by the commercial partners, thus strengthening the European Biotech field. The vision of MossTech is to expand the available biotechnological tools for the European biotech industry. Europe is world leader in industrial biotechnological use of mosses. The main training objective of MossTech is to educate 6 competent and independent young scientists. They will be able to develop ideas and deploy the latest technologies, in order to understand and increase the production of high value products in moss using bioreactors in an industrial setting. The trained ESRs will acquire competences for a future career within industrial biotechnology. Through this MossTech will add novel skilled workforce to the European society and biotech industry that currently employs about 22 million people. The ESRs will also be fully qualified for jobs in academia and related areas throughout Europe. Overall - the project trained 6 full time ESRs (7 person in total). Five of these have or will finish as PhD students (all are very close to be finished). The remaining two do not hand in a thesis. Several papers was published, and one combined review described the project. The project also led to the funding on at least two continous research projects, and in one 1 ESR is to be hired as a post doc. Patents are still being discussed from two of the ESR projects, the same two that are being continued with other grants. Thus, in conclusion the project has been very successful.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union

Project objective

MossTech will expand the tools for green biotechnology. By using the simplest land plants, the mosses, MossTech will develop new green cell factories for the production of proteins, lipids and fine chemicals. MossTech will train 6 highly qualified ESRs in modern biotechnology with the focus on expanding the use of green cells in biotechnological applications. The consortium of three universities, one research institution and four companies together provides a strong background for training in scientific and transferable skills. Scientifically, MossTech will focus on the use of mosses in biotechnology. Mosses are structurally simple plants, but have a high degree of chemical complexity, thus are a rich source for novel biosynthetic genes and pathways. Mosses in Northern Europe are adapted for high growth rates at low temperatures and long days, which are ideal properties for competitive biotechnological production. The species and chemical diversity in Northern European mosses are very high; this allows MossTech to look for novel sources for valuable lipids, terpenoids and other chemicals. MossTech will study the lipid and terpenoid metabolism in mosses with the aim of establishing novel production lines for the industrial partners in the project. Additionally, MossTech will provide at least 8-13 new mosses that can be used in biotechnological production, along with novel transformation technologies, and an auxotrophic moss to be used in biological research and biotechnological industry. Overall, this will allow MossTech to understand complex biochemical routes leading to alternative regulation of such pathways and will provide competitive production of fine chemicals.Finally, MossTech will provide 6 well trained ESRs that will be highly qualified and trained in novel technologies to work in the European Biotech industry that currently employs about 22 million people. The ESRs will also be fully qualified for jobs in academia and related areas throughout Europe.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

  • DANMARKS TEKNISKE UNIVERSITET · Kongens LyngbyCoordinatorDenmark
  • ALBERT-LUDWIGS-UNIVERSITAET FREIBURG · FreiburgGermany
  • ARCTICMASS EHF · REYKJAVIKIceland
  • FUNDACAO CALOUSTE GULBENKIAN · LisboaPortugal
  • LUNDS UNIVERSITET · LundSweden
  • TAXA Biotechnologies, Inc · San FranciscoUnited States
  • Transactiva s.r.l. · UdineItaly

Links

Data: CORDIS, © European Union