INTRODUCTION
In industry, a noticeable shift is occurring, transitioning from conventional chemical processes to more sustainable biobased circular production systems. Microbial cell factories stand as pivotal players in the emerging circular bioeconomy. Despite their significance, these cell factories still require substantial optimization efforts. Notably, the exploration of transport systems within these cells represents a relatively untapped yet promising field for further investigation.
BioPort was founded by Prof. Dr. ir. Inge Van Bogaert and is part of the UGent Centre for Synthetic Biology. Bioport focuses on intensifying industrial biotechnological processes by understanding and exploiting the mechanisms of import and export of microbial cells.
-Research-
Transport engineering as platform technology
Transport mining
There are many unexplored sequencing and proteomics data available. Omics data gathered from highly specialized niches or organisms that can be explored and mined for the discovery of novel or/improved transport proteins. We develop specific screening systems to unlock these unknown transport mechanisms.
Channel engineering
Channel proteins transport compounds without the requirement of energy. In addition of their small size, this makes them interesting candidates for cell factory optimization.
Metabolic flux engineering
The enzymes of the assembly line of a product are anchored to the plasma membrane, enabling a close connection between the import of substrates and the involved enzymes, allowing high production levels and lower impacts of by-products and inhibitory intermediates.
C1 transport engineering in yeast
Single carbon (C1) molecules are sustainable feedstocks for microbial bioproduction, but the efficiency of carbon assimilation pathways is often limited by substrate availability. Our study focuses on membrane transport proteins, which play a crucial role in regulating substrate supply, in the well-established yeast Komagataella phaffii.
Transport engineering to increase productivity
Long chain dicarboxylic acids
To obtain a circular bioeconomy, the usage of waste streams as alternative substrates is aimed for. In this perspective, used cooking oils are being investigated to be converted into long-chain dicarboxylic acids, which are biodegradable precursors of numerous compounds. Non-conventional yeasts are being selected and engineered to obtain this conversion.
Sophorolipids
Sophorolipids are detergents produced by the yeast Starmerella bombicola. By investigating the transportome of this yeast, more knowledge on the transport systems is obtained, allowing the improvement of sophorolipid production by discovering new sophorolipid transporters and importers of alternative substrates or by the development of new export systems.
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Fatty acids
Fatty acids can be produced by engineered oleaginous yeasts. However, the fatty acid production in yeast still needs optimization. The production can be increased by improving fatty acid export, making the investigation of fatty acid export systems very valuable.
-Current Team-
Prof. Dr. ir. Inge Van Bogaert - Group Leader (PI)
Inge Van Bogaert graduated magna cum laude at Ghent University as a bio-engineer cell and gene biotechnology in 2004. She obtained a PhD in Applied Biological Sciences at Gent University in May 2008 on the topic of microbial surfactants. During her PhD and PostDoc career (2008-2015), she built a strong track-record and recognized international top-reputation in the field of microbial biosurfactants and yeast lipids, illustrated by numerous publications and world-wide invited talks. This also resulted in 5 patent applications. During her research, it appeared to her that successful crossing the biological membranes is of key importance for the establishment of an efficient industrial biotechnology process, and it became clear that there lays huge potential in the unlocking of cellular export in the context of applied biotechnology. Since her appointment as professor in October 2015, Inge Van Bogaert fully invests in the novel research topic of cellular export, resulting in various collaborative projects.
Inge Van Bogaert is teaching several courses related to industrial biotechnology, synthetic biology, metagenomics and functional genomics. Moreover, she is strongly
involved in the last year teaching program of the UGent Branch Campus in South-Korea (GUGC).
Dr. Jungho Lee
Meriam Vandeputte
Former BioPort members
Lobke Sips
Laurens Lambrecht
Liam Jenkins
Despina Noti
Sylwia Jezierska, PhD
Silke Claus, PhD
José Manuel Salvador López, PhD
Aabid Manzoor Shah, PhD
Liv Theresa Muth, PhD
