An innovative microbial cell factory for natural vanillin
Vanillin is the second most expensive spice globally (€11.000/kilo) and used compound in fragrances and food industry. Over 99% of all vanillin is chemically synthesised. However, market demand for chemically synthesized vanillin is declining due to the excessive use of fossil resources and solvents that severely impact the environment. However, the production of natural vanillin is limited (<1%) due to natural disasters, the limited capacity and high costs. This shows the strong societal, industrial and environmental need for an innovative, cheap and scalable production method for natural vanillin. Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are a suitable alternative to produce vanillin from natural substrates; the resulting product is classified as natural vanillin under European and US food legislation. However, conventional genetic engineering methods have strong technological limitations.   
 
EV Biotech aims to revolutionize conventional biotechnology by developing an innovative microbial cell factory (MCF) strain using innovative technologies from systems biology and in silico modelling. To achieve this, EV Biotech envisions a novel molecular dynamics modelling strategy based on 3D protein simulations and computational enzyme design tools to redesign these enzymes. In fact, the development of this molecular dynamics model for proteins is critical for the overall proof-of-concept and success of BELLOSSOM. However, the team lacks a PhD-level scientist who has specialized knowledge of molecular dynamics modelling of proteins/enzymes. EV Biotech plans to exploit three business opportunities by recruiting an Innovation Associate: (1) a lack in the market for large-scale natural vanillin production methods, (2) the industrial demand for MCF with higher production rates of natural compounds, and reduced time and costs for their development, and (3) the addition of a molecular dynamics model for proteins in the production pipeline to enhance the current market position.