Harnessing the potential of Archaea - Training Europe's next visionaries for an innovative and sustainable future

利用古生菌的潜力 - 培训欧洲的下一代有远见的人以实现创新和可持续的未来

• 批准号: EP/Y031407/1
• 负责人: Bertram Daum
• 金额: $ 66.43万
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF EXETER
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2024
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2024 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=EP%2FY031407%2F1
• 关键词: Harnessing; potential; Archaea; Training; Europe

Archaea form one of the three domains of life, next to bacteria and eukaryotes. Archaea have unique cellular characteristics that allow them to thrive in extreme environments, for example at high pressures, salt concentrations or temperatures. Although their biochemical and metabolic properties show great potential for a wide range of biotechnological applications, our lack of knowledge about the structure and function of the archaeal cell surface and its role in formation of communities, such as biofilms, is currently hampering the large-scale industrial use of these organisms. Indeed, several prominent questions remain unanswered due to the small scientific community working in the field, and the lack of methods and technologies enabling research under extreme conditions. ARCTECH proposes the first training initiative on archaea, aiming to foster the next generation of European visionaries in 'fundamental archaeal research and their application in biotechnology'. The 11 Doctoral Candidates (DCs) will address key knowledge gaps and develop methods and technologies for archaeal research, which are needed to unleash the industrial potential that archaea hold. The scientific outcomes of ARCTECH will be applicable to several biotech areas, such as Green Energy production, Sustainable Biomaterials, Biocorrosion, Enzyme production and Drug Delivery. This project will directly impact the European Higher Education Sector as the first research training initiative embarking into the unchartered world of archaea. The DCs will be trained by world experts from European academic and industrial institutions, benefiting from strong interdisciplinary exposure (e.g. microbiology, bioimaging, biogas production). These entrepreneurial, innovative, and resilient DCs will be of great value both to the academic and non-academic sectors, bringing unique capacity to inspire/spawn new fields of innovation in European industries.

古细菌是生命的三大领域之一，仅次于细菌和真核生物。古细菌具有独特的细胞特征，使它们能够在极端环境中繁衍生息，例如在高压、盐浓度或温度下。尽管它们的生化和代谢特性在广泛的生物技术应用中显示出巨大的潜力，但我们对古菌细胞表面的结构和功能及其在生物膜等群落形成中的作用缺乏了解，目前阻碍了大规模的研究。这些生物体的工业用途。事实上，由于该领域工作的科学界规模较小，并且缺乏在极端条件下进行研究的方法和技术，一些突出的问题仍未得到解答。 ARCTECH 提出了第一个古细菌培训计划，旨在培养下一代欧洲“基础古细菌研究及其在生物技术中的应用”的有远见的人。 11 名博士候选人 (DC) 将解决关键的知识差距并开发古菌研究的方法和技术，这是释放古菌所拥有的工业潜力所必需的。 ARCTECH 的科学成果将适用于多个生物技术领域，例如绿色能源生产、可持续生物材料、生物腐蚀、酶生产和药物输送。作为第一个进入未知古菌世界的研究培训计划，该项目将直接影响欧洲高等教育部门。 DC 将接受来自欧洲学术和工业机构的世界专家的培训，并受益于强大的跨学科知识（例如微生物学、生物成像、沼气生产）。这些具有创业精神、创新精神和韧性的 DC 对学术和非学术领域都具有巨大价值，具有独特的能力来激发/催生欧洲工业的新创新领域。