University of Ottawa

Purpose

The team proposes to apply state-of-the-art Genetic Code Expansion (GCE) technology to develop an industrial biocatalytic component system for application to the sustainable removal of undesirable anti-nutritional/palatability factors during the processing of pulse meal. GCE is an emerging bio-based technology, poised to dramatically expand the potential of synthetic biology by enabling the coding of biologicals with an expanded set of building blocks, and thus a vastly expanded array of novel biochemistries. This translates into precision engineering of biological technologies (therapeutics, biocatalysts, biopolymers), with a breadth of specificities, stabilities and efficiencies far beyond what natural biology can effect. The team will help to provide the necessary components to enable GCE in two recombinant systems, E.coli and S. cerevisiae that will be compiled. Genes encoding the biocatalytic components will be individually mutated such that each optimized full length component will only be obtained with the successful incorporation of the un-natural building blocks. In the short term of this one-year project, incorporated synthetic biochemistries will test the potential to use ncAAs to enhance the catalytic activity of the relevant biocatalysts. In the longer term, the team hopes to assess the potential to stack additional modifications for stability and re-usability as well, for development of an overall sustainable, cost-effective biocatalyst to apply to the bioprocessing of lower value agricultural commodities. Prototypes will be tested against pulse meal with partners in Western Canada. The partnership to produce a novel industrially relevant biocatalytic system that will enable cost-effective bioprocessing of lower value commodiies, an firmly within the emerging GCE cornerstone of synthetic biology, thereby significantly enhancing Canada’s innovation potential across multiple Canadian Industries going forward.