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Project

Unravelling the natural complexity of the protein biosynthesis pathway in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Protein synthesis is a complex, crucial cellular process, involving many quality control, sorting and trafficking steps. This complexity hampers a full mechanistic understanding and drastically impedes pathway improvements, required for several biotech and medical applications. Prior studies on protein synthesis yielded only limited results, mainly because they focus on single gene perturbation and secretion maximization—which are only some steps of the sophisticated process. Most studies solely use 1 genetic background, thus missing how different (natural) genetic variations could affect protein levels.
The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae combines many unique traits, making it the perfect model to study protein synthesis. It is also commonly used for heterologous protein expression, facilitating direct valorization of results. Here, I will identify genetic factors underlying efficient protein production and accumulation by exploring S. cerevisiae natural biodiversity. I will use an innovative and multidisciplinary approach, combining my omics skills with Round-Robin QTL mapping and state-of-the-art high-throughput proteomics. Ultimately, this will lead to (i) genome-wide mapping of the S. cerevisiae protein accumulation biodiversity, (ii) mechanistic understanding of genetic factors underpinning this phenotype, and (iii) development of new protein over-accumulating strains. 
Today’s demand for a sustainable bio- economy make this project timely and fitting to societal needs.
 

Date:1 Nov 2022 →  Today
Keywords:Protein production, Systems Biology, Yeast biotechnology
Disciplines:Proteins, Synthetic biology, Quantitative genetics, Genomics, Industrial microbiology