Environment: ENEA among European centers of excellence for collection of microorganisms
17/10/2019
Opportunities for agribusinesses, cultural heritage, energy and health
ENEA European center of excellence with its microbial collection comprising approximately 1500 bacteria, fungi, algae and viruses , as part of MIRRI - Microbial Resource Research Infrastructure [1], the largest European research infrastructure safeguarding microbial biodiversity and guaranteeing the conservation and distribution of microorganisms for environmental sustainability, biotechnological development and bioeconomy growth.
The microbial collection has been created over the years by an interdepartmental team of researchers that has collected microbial organisms and microbial consortia with great application potential, from different environments[2]:
from the health of cultivated plants to the degradation of environmental contaminants, from the production of biomolecules for industrial, energy and food uses to new products for the restoration of artistic heritage.
The collection comprises bacteria and fungi, fresh and marine microalgae for the production of bio-based molecules in the nutraceutical, cosmeceutical, pharmaceutical and green chemistry sectors, and a vegetable virus with applications in the biomedical sector, especially for the development of innovative vaccines, diagnostic systems and delivery of targeted cancer therapy.
"Although the fundamental role played by micro-organisms for the maintenance of life on Earth and local and global sustainability is undisputed, their added value is underestimated” Annamaria Bevivino, Head of the ENEA Laboratory of Sustainability, Quality and Safety of Food Production, pointed out."
For this reason the international scientific community has launched a global appeal to improve knowledge and conservation of microbial biodiversity, which is a tool of excellence and a resource for the well-being of the planet, in line with the Convention on Biodiversity and the purpose of MIRRI. The promotion of our collection during the 2019 Open Day fully meets these needs ”.
The ENEA collection is part of the activities to improve productivity, quality and sustainability of food chains using the microbiome, the full set of bacteria, fungi and viruses, their genomes and interactions in a given environment.
Among the most recent projects is SIMBA (Sustainable Innovation of MicroBiome Applications in Food System), in which participate ENEA and 22 other partners among European companies and research institutes, presented at the conference “The Microbiome at the heart of sustainable food production ", organized by ENEA on the occasion of the European Biotech Week 2019 (September 23-29) [3].
ENEA has the task of selecting microbial strains promoting plant growth and applying them as consortia in order to increase the productivity of maize, wheat, potato and tomato cultivation and improving resilience to stress, capacity of nutrient absorption and quality of production in different weather conditions.
"SIMBA will provide farmers with indications on best practices for using microbial consortia in the open field, with the purpose of increasing the productivity and sustainability of food chains and creating new quality foods," Bevivino concluded.
For more information please contact:
Annamaria Bevivino, ENEA – Head Laboratory Sustainability, Quality and Safety of Agrifood Productions, annamaria.bevivino@enea.it
Il sito del progetto SIMBA: https://simbaproject.eu
Event “The Microbiome at the heart of sustainable food production”: http://www.enea.it/it/seguici/events/europeanbiotechweek_enea_24set2019/the-microbiome-at-the-heart-of-sustainable-food-production
www.opendaydellaricerca.enea.it
[1] http://www.mirri-it.it/index.php/associated-members-sep2019/
[2] The ENEA microbial collection consists of microbial strains from different environments: soil and rhizosphere of plants of agronomic interest, contaminated sites, impoverished soils and archaeological sites, living animals and plants or uncontaminated environments