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Seminar

Seminar on fermentation in practice, from microorganism to final product

This seminar will be presented in English. null

Branche
Laboratory Technology
Onderwerp
Laboratory Technology

1:00 PM – 2:00 PM

Fermentation in practice: from microorganism to end product

Fermentation research is becoming accessible to everyone. In this seminar, you will discover how to get started with fermentation practically, even without your own equipment: from microorganism to final product, thanks to a shared fermentation infrastructure.

From Bioreactor to Plate: Turning Precision-Fermented Proteins into Food

The need to diversify our protein supply and reduce dependence on conventional animal-based production is driving interest in new protein sources. Microbial proteins and precision fermentation are emerging as promising alternatives. In precision fermentation, microorganisms such as yeast, bacteria or fungi act as cell factories to produce specific food proteins, including milk and egg proteins, without the animal itself. However, producing the protein is only the first step. Efficient downstream processing is needed to recover functional ingredients from the fermentation broth, while subsequent formulation determines whether these proteins can reproduce familiar food structures or enable entirely new ones. This presentation will highlight current opportunities and challenges in moving precision-fermented proteins from the bioreactor into functional food products
Speaker: Julia Kepler, Wageningen University & Research

Survival of the most industrial: evolution as a tool to improve industrial fermentation

Industrial fermentation using microorganisms gives us many everyday products—some obvious, like the yogurt you have for breakfast; others less obvious, like the citric acid in your favorite soda, and the enzymes in your laundry detergent. Behind every fermentation product is a microorganism that had to be optimized to work at industrial efficiency. Improving strains through rational genetic engineering or random mutagenesis combined with screening can only get you so far. Laboratory evolution offers a powerful and complementary method to select for complex properties (eg, faster growth or higher tolerance) without the need for genetic tools and a deep understanding of the underlying mechanisms. This talk will introduce industrial fermentation and strain optimization and cover the various methods and applications of laboratory evolution.

Speaker: Jeroen Koendjbiharie, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

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