Production and application of biocatalysts in the generation of macromolecules for healthy foods with a focus on obtaining prebiotics

• Grant number: 25/02824-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: May 01, 2025
• End date: December 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Biochemistry - Biochemistry of Microorganisms
• Principal Investigator: Fernando Segato
• Grantee: João Victor André Silveira
• Host Institution: Escola de Engenharia de Lorena (EEL). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Lorena , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 20/07015-7 - PBIS - Integrated Biotechnological Platform of Healthy Ingredients, AP.NPOP

Abstract

Brazil, in general, and the State of São Paulo, in particular, are major players in agricultural production, with global projection and importance. However, technologies for the utilization of agro-industrial residues and the production of healthy foods still fall short of the desired level. On the other hand, the continuous rise in diseases related to metabolic and immune system disorders caused by poor diet, sedentary lifestyles, and obesity-including diabetes, hypertension, cancer, and rare metabolic diseases-has been placing an increasing burden on healthcare systems and expenses related to sick leave. In this project, we are establishing and enhancing a biotechnological platform that involves the discovery and engineering of enzymes, as well as the large-scale production of recombinant proteins (cell factories), focusing on the production of healthy compounds such as prebiotics (XOS, GOS, FOS, and MOS). These compounds will be produced from agricultural residues using advanced enzymatic technologies obtained from cell factories and purified. Furthermore, this proposal is linked to the PBIS project, which brings together a critical mass of researchers from Brazil and other parts of the world to address the challenges of identifying and discovering new enzymes and their use for the hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass. This leverages our combined knowledge of transcriptomics, genomics, proteomics, structural and molecular biology, as well as our accumulated know-how and joint expertise. The research involves the identification of proteins from libraries obtained through omics techniques from lignocellulolytic microorganisms and their complex communities; the genes of interest have been amplified and cloned into efficient expression systems; the recombinant proteins have been produced in small quantities and partially evaluated for their biochemical and structural characteristics. Based on data previously obtained by PBIS, the present project aims to optimize fermentation processes in bench-scale bioreactors using recombinant strains to increase the yield of target protein production and evaluate the efficiency of the extracts in producing prebiotics. (AU)