Bioengineering artificial extremozymes and ‘extremocells’ for robust and sustainable biocatalysis
Description: Isolated enzymes and whole-cell catalysts are gaining momentum as a more sustainable and efficient alternatives to replace or complement traditional chemical catalysts. However, biocatalysts are not adapted to the non-natural conditions to which they are exposed during reactions. Hence, they suffer from low stability which impacts their cost-efficiency. To date, several strategies such as chemical modifications of proteins, enzyme immobilization, and use of thermophilic enzymes have been used with partial success. Therefore, enzyme stability and cost-efficiency remain the main challenges that need to be surpassed to boost the biocatalytic applications.This project presents a conceptually novel bioengineering technology to develop robust and efficient biocatalysts by combining the protective properties of the recently discovered tardigrade disordered proteins (TDPs) with isolated enzymes, immobilized enzymatic cascades, and bacterial cells. The resulting artificial extremozymes and ‘extremocells’ will present a higher activity and stability under harsh reaction conditions such as extreme temperature and pH, presence of co-solvents, or dehydration. The engineered biocatalysts will have an increased lifetime, enhancing the sustainability and cost-efficiency of the biocatalytic processes.TDPs are proteins unique to the extremophile animals called tardigrades. A set of selected TDPs will be genetically fused to enzymes or added in solution to harness their exceptional capabilities to mediate tolerance to different abiotic stresses. Specifically, TDPs will be integrated into two main goals in this project: enzyme immobilization on solid materials and compartmentalization of enzyme cascades. This combination will enable the recycling and reuse of the biocatalysts. Toxicity, costs, and waste of the processes will be further reduced by developing new materials from renewable sources (i.e. wood) for the enzyme/cell immobilization. In addition, a novel screening platform integrating protein expression, enzyme immobilization, and activity test in one pot will enable to speed up the development of artificial extremozymes.Overall, the bioengineering of artificial extremozymes and ‘extremocells’ with TDPs will be a key enabling technology with the potential to become a universal tool to transform any enzyme/cell into a more efficient biocatalyst. In reaching its goals, this project will not only consolidate but also expand the role of biocatalysis in industry, biomedicine, and biotechnology towards a more sustainable society.
Amount: CHF 922,800
Funding type: fellowship
Funder scheme: Ambizione
Start date: 2023-10-01
End date: 2026-09-30
Investigator: Benitez Mateos, Ana Isabel
Institution: ETH Zurich – ETHZ
Funded outputs count: 4
Funder award ID: 216096
OpenAlex ID: G93971862