Copper is indispensable in modern industry and agriculture, yet it is also an increasingly prevalent and concerning pollutant. Although whole-cell biosensors for quantifying biologically available copper exist, their accuracy significantly decreases in samples containing complex mixtures of common soil contaminants, such as heavy metals and hydrocarbons.
This reduced effectiveness of biosensors in non-laboratory conditions is a frequent issue, as these tools are based on standard laboratory strains that are easy to use but lack robustness.
To address this challenge, the research group of the robustiCo project will identify and develop yeast strains from the genus Saccharomyces, enveloped by cell walls that make them more resistant to common soil contaminants. By concentrating on the cell wall as the key protective structure of microbial cells, the group will develop a cellular platform resistant to various environmental stressors. This platform will be adapted for precise copper measurement in non-laboratory conditions and for displaying laccases on the cell wall, i.e., multicopper oxidases capable of degrading azo dyes, common pollutants in wastewater from the textile industry.
In addition to these two main objectives, the research group will map the diversity of cell walls in yeast from the genus Saccharomyces, catalogue the proteome of their cell walls, develop advanced platforms for protein display on cell surfaces, and identify mechanisms that contribute to enhancing the resilience and functionality of the cell wall.