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HEDoctoral network2023–2026

BiocatCodeExpander · Genetic code expansion for biocatalysis and enzyme engineering doctoral network

Horizon Europe — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Duration
2023-01-01 → 2026-12-31
EU contribution
€2,635,625
Participants
18
Scheme
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-DN

Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.

Results in brief

Genetic code expansion for biocatalysis and enzyme engineering doctoral network

The expansion of the genetic code through the incorporation of non-canonical amino acids (NCAA) opens up a range of exciting biotechnological possibilities, including protein imaging, spectroscopy, and enzyme engineering. However, the application of NCAA in enzyme engineering has been limited by the inefficiency or lack of flexibility in current incorporation methods. This DN proposal seeks to address these limitations by fostering a collaborative, multidisciplinary approach, bringing together expertise in biocatalysis, synthetic and computational biology. Through the training of 10 DCs at the cutting edge of these fields, the project will enhance NCAA incorporation tools, facilitating site-selective protein conjugation, high-throughput screening, and the design of new-to-nature reactions. The newly designed biocatalysts developed through this research will not only contribute to scientific innovation but also ensure the next generation of researchers are equipped to drive sustainable and environmentally friendly production of chemicals and pharmaceuticals.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union

Project objective

The expansion of the genetic code for the incorporation of non-canonical amino acids (NCAA) in proteins provides biotechnologists with an amazing kit of novel tools. NCAA can be used in multiple applications such as investigation of the structure and dynamics of proteins, as handles for protein imaging and spectroscopy, metal chelators or as click chemistry reagents. Yet, only a few cases exist where NCAA are used in enzyme engineering to explore, improve or install new enzymatic activities. Further development has been restricted by the limited efficiency and flexibility of tools for their incorporation. This is mainly caused by the field developing separately and not being driven by desired target catalytic activities and needs of protein engineers. Therefore, this DN proposal aims to bridge this gap and bring experts from different fields together to ensure the development of the methodologies in a collaborative manner. With a threefold- training structure Learn–Teach–Create, the DN trains 10 PhDs at the boundaries of biocatalysis, synthetic biology, peptide chemistry and computational biology and brings together a team of academic and industrial partners to increase the European research capacity.The efficiency and flexibility in NCAA incorporation are decisive for successful catalytic application; use of NCAA for selective protein conjugation facilitates application in site-selective immobilization; combination of protein folding analyses in high-throughput-screens with automatization fosters the application of NCAA in directed evolution to engineer reactivity and stability of enzymes; going a step further, NCAA can provide functional groups for designed biocatalysts for new-to-nature reactions. The proposed research affords new tools and applications, and the newly designed catalysts are envisioned to be important biotechnological processes for a greener, more environmentally friendly production of chemicals and pharmaceuticals.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

  • STICHTING VU · AmsterdamCoordinatorNetherlands
  • ACIB GMBH · GrazAustria
  • ASOCIACION CENTRO DE INVESTIGACION COOPERATIVA EN BIOMATERIALES- CIC biomaGUNE · San SebastianSpain
  • ASTRAZENECA UK LIMITED · CAMBRIDGEUnited Kingdom
  • ENANTIS SRO · BrnoCzechia
  • ENGINZYME AB · StockholmSweden
  • FREIE UNIVERSITAET BERLIN · BerlinGermany
  • LENIOBIO GMBH · DusseldorfGermany
  • Masarykova univerzita · BrnoCzechia
  • RIJKSUNIVERSITEIT GRONINGEN · GroningenNetherlands
  • SYMERES NETHERLANDS BV · NijmegenNetherlands
  • TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITAET GRAZ · GrazAustria
  • THE UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA · ManitobaCanada
  • UNIVERSIDAD DEL PAIS VASCO/ EUSKAL HERRIKO UNIBERTSITATEA · LeioaSpain
  • UNIVERSITAET FUER BODENKULTUR WIEN · WienAustria
  • UNIVERSITAT ROVIRA I VIRGILI · TarragonaSpain
  • UPPSALA UNIVERSITET · UppsalaSweden
  • moloX GmbH · BerlinGermany

Links

Data: CORDIS, © European Union