Exploring the potential of Auxiliary Activity enzymes: hemicellulose oxidation and its biotechnological application as plant biostimulant. Acronym: AAs4Plants

• Grant number: 24/11129-9
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: January 01, 2025
• End date: December 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Forestry Resources and Forestry Engineering - Technology and Use of Forest Products
• Principal Investigator: Fernando Segato
• Grantee: Fernando Segato
• Principal researcher abroad: David Cannella
• Institution abroad: Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Belgium
• Host Institution: Escola de Engenharia de Lorena (EEL). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Lorena , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Adriane Maria Ferreira Milagres ; Gabriela Leila Berto
• Associated research grant: 21/06679-1 - Enzymatic oxidation of sugarcane bagasse 2: exploring the interaction between LPMOs and its redox partner CDHs aiming for the development of more efficient enzymes for insertion into an engineered cell factory, AP.BIOEN.JP2

Abstract

This project would combine the talents of the researchers, Dr. David Cannella of the Université libre de Bruxelles (CPBL-BioCat), Dr. Fernando Segato, Dr. Gabriela Berto and Dr. Adriane Milagres (SyMBLab) of the University of São Paulo (USP), to develop an enzymatic cocktail to tailor hemicellulose from sugarcane bagasse to produce biomolecules that can act as biostimulant for plant autodefense. The cocktail would include a blend of hydrolytic and oxidative enzymes from various filamentous fungi that have already been heterologously expressed and are part of a protein library generated at SyMBLab. Sugarcane bagasse would be pretreated using diluted acid aiming to extract xylans polymers and this biomass would be tailored by hydrolytic-oxidative enzymatic cascade reactions. At BioCat, the protocols for evaluation of plant protection against Botrytis cinerea and Pseudomonas syringae using model plants Arabidopsis thaliana, and the crops have been established. (AU)