Descripción del proyecto
ACROSS EUROPE ONLY, MORE THAN 2,5 MILLION SITES HAVE BEEN FOUND TO BE CONTAMINATED, WITH THE CONSEQUENCE THAT OTHERWISE VALUABLE LANDS BECAME UNUSABLE FOR HABITATION, AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITIES AND ECOLOGICAL HABITATS, APPROXIMATELY 342,000 SITES IN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES CURRENTLY REQUIRE URGENT REMEDIATION, CONVENTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES FOR CLEANING-UP CONTAMINATED SOILS (E,G, EXCAVATION, LANDFILLING AND SOIL WASHING) AND WATERS (E,G, WATER TREATMENT WITH ACTIVATED C OR ION EXCHANGE RESINS) ARE GENERALLY ENERGY INTENSIVE, EXPENSIVE, TIME CONSUMING AND WASTE-PRODUCING, THE IMPLEMENTATION OF BIOREMEDIATION TECHNOLOGIES CAN INSTEAD BE CONSIDERED A CHEAPER AND MORE SUSTAINABLE ALTERNATIVE TO PHYSICO-CHEMICAL TREATMENTS, HOWEVER, THE FULL POTENTIAL OF THESE TECHNOLOGIES HAS NOT BEEN COMPLETELY EXPLORED, TO THIS IS AIM, THE PROPOSED MSCA-RISE PROJECT (BIOREM) AIMS TO REINFORCE AN EXISTING NETWORK TO ANSWER THE NEED BY APPLYING AND COMBINING ADVANCED BIOTECHNOLOGY TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES TO BE POTENTIALLY APPLIED AT FIELD SCALE TO REMEDIATION SOILS CONTAMINATED WITH HYDROCARBONS, HEAVY METALS AND PESTICIDES, SOIL BIOREMEDIATION INCLUDES TECHNOLOGIES AS BIOAUGMENTATION, BIOSTIMULATION AND PHYTOREMEDIATION, THESE TECHNOLOGIES INCLUDE SUSTAINABLE PROCESSES IN WHICH MICROBIAL COMMUNITIES AND PLANTS DEGRADE AND DETOXIFY ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINANTS, THE KEY FOR SUCCESSFUL BIOREMEDIATION PROCESSES IS TO HARNESS THE NATURALLY OCCURRING CATABOLIC CAPABILITY OF MICROBES TO CATALYZE TRANSFORMATIONS OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTANTS, PROGRESS AT LAB SCALE HAS REACHED SUCCESSFUL RESULTS, HOWEVER, REMEDIATION PROCESSES OFTEN REQUIRE AN IN IN SITU APPLICATION, REQUIRING THE INVOLVEMENT OF DIFFERENT MICROBIAL STRAINS WITH KEY METABOLIC PATHWAYS, PRESENT IN FAVOURABLE ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS, SUCH AS SPECIFIC SOIL PHYSICO-CHEMICAL PROPERTIES AND WEATHER CONDITIONS, IN ADDITION, THE MICROBIAL COMMUNITIES PRESENT IN REMEDIATION SITES MAY CONTAIN PATHOGENIC SPECIES, WHICH COULD POSE A POTENTIAL RISK TO HUMAN AND ANIMAL HEALTH, CONSIDERING THE CURRENT SITUATION OF THE MENTIONED BIOREMEDIATION TECHNOLOGIES, THE BIOREM PROJECT AIMS TO: - APPLY ADVANCED MULTI-OMICS SYSTEMS BIOLOGY APPROACHES (E,G, GENOMICS, TRANSCRIPTOMICS, PROTEOMICS, METABOLOMICS) TO CHARACTERIZE MICROBIAL COMMUNITIES PRESENT AT 3 POTENTIAL REMEDIATION SITES CONTAMINATED WITH (1) HYDROCARBON AND METALS AND (2) PESTICIDES, TO IDENTIFY CORE MICROBIAL SPECIES WITH KEY ROLES IN CONTAMINANTS REDUCTION,- DEVELOP SAFE-BY-DESIGN, PATHOGEN-FREE, SYNTHETIC MICROBIAL COMMUNITIES WITH ENHANCED CONTAMINANTS REDUCTION CAPACITY, USING STATE OF THE ART HIGH-THROUGHPUT BIOMOLECULAR ANALYSIS AND METABOLIC MODELLING APPROACHES,- PERFORM IN SITU PILOT SCALE BIOREMEDIATION TESTS IN THE SELECTED SITES TO PROOF THE CONTAMINANT REDUCTION EFFICIENCY OF THE DESIGNED MICROBIAL COMMUNITIES, THROUGH THEIR APPLICATION IN INTEGRATED SYSTEMS, EITHER BY COMBINING BIOAUGMENTATION AND BIOSTIMULATION APPROACHES, OR BY USING THEM AS PROBIOTICS IN PHYTOREMEDIATION ACTIONS,TO ACHIEVED THE AMBITIOUS OBJECTIVES PRESTIGIOUS EXPERTS IN EUROPE AND CHINA WILL GUARANTEE THE CONSECUTION OF THE PROJECT OBJECTIVES FROM RESEARCH TO MARKET APPLICATION AT INTERNATIONAL LEVEL, THE PARTICIPATION OF 3 LEADING COMPANIES IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL REMEDIATION AND BIOTECHNOLOGY SECTOR WILL ALLOW TO BRING THE TECHNOLOGIES DEVELOPED IN THE PROJECT CLOSER TO COMMERCIALIZATION STRATEGIES, BIOREMEDIACION\BIOLOGIA DE SISTEMAS\DESCONTAMINACION DE SUELOS\BIOTECNOLOGIA\MICROBIOLOGIA