MIRRI WEBINARS: Microbial resources for a Green, Healthy and Sustainable future & Cutting-edge technologies for 2030 microbial Culture Collections

The partners of IS_MIRRI21, with the leadership of INRAE from France organised two webinars on November 18 and November 19, 2021, aiming at addressing microbial resources and microbial culture collections.

The first webinar, called “Microbial resources for a green, healthy and sustainable future”, focused on MIRRI’s Strategic Research & Innovation Agenda (SRIA) and how future research, innovation and market opportunities can be anticipated through the project’s strategic areas and further mapped under the Horizon Europe clusters on Health, Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment. After opening remarks by Luís Soares (MIRRI Executive Director), keynote speaker Dominik Sobczak (European Commission; ESFRI) addressed the relevance of research infrastructures to the new European Research Area and for delivering the impacts of Horizon Europe. MIRRI’s seven strategic areas were presented by Sylvie Brisse (Institut Pasteur), Nélson Lima (Universidade do Minho), Rosa Aznar (CECT/UVEG), Paris Laskaris (NKUA), Cristina Varese (UNITO), Craig Faulds (INRAe CIRM-CF) and Gerard Verkleij (KNAW). These presentations were complemented by speakers who showcased MIRRI’s participation in Horizon Europe and its clusters, such as the example of the ISIDOre project by Raquel Hurtado-Ortiz (Institut Pasteur), the BY-COVID project by Paolo Romano (USMI) and the general introduction of the Horizon Europe clusters of Health (Virginie Sivan, NCP-France, MESRI) and Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment (Marta Conde-Vidal, NCP-Spain, CDTI).

Finally, several scientific speeches were held, addressing the current status of microalgae as a source of biologically active compounds (Juan Luis Gomez, BEA), the use of microbial BRCs in support of the ecological transition to sustainable and healthy food products (Michel-Yves Mistou, INRAe-CIRM), the Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and other key organisms for improving crop production (Stéphane Declerck, BCCM-MUCL), the collaborative work experience in the field of oil bioremediation with industrial partners (Maria Kuyukina, PFRC UB RAS), the bioconversion of lignin-derived aromatics compounds into platform chemicals (Ronald de Vries, KNAW) and several scenarios on how to preserve yeast diversity from worldwide endangered cold habitats in the era of climatic change (Benedetta Turchetti, DBVPG).

The second webinar, called “Cutting-edge technologies for 2030 microbial culture collections”, took place on November 19 and was subdivided in a section about microbiota conservation and characterisation, the MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry and genomics. Matthew Ryan (CABI), Thomas Riedel (DSMZ), Perrine Portier (INRAe CFBP), Hauke Smidt (U Wageningen) and Vincent Thomas (BioAster) were the speakers of the session dedicated to microbiota, while Anneleen Wieme (BCCM/LMG), Sylvain Brisse (Institut Pasteur) and Vincent Robert (KNAW; Bioaware) discussed the applications of MALDI-TOF. Antonis Rokas (Vanderbilt Univ. Nashville), Sarah Lebeer (U Antwerpen) and Federica Palma (Institut Pasteur) delivered their presentations in the final session, dedicated to genomics, before Jean-Luc Legras (INRAe CIRM-Levures) concluded the event.

The first webinar provided insights into microbial solutions in line with the 2030 EU Food Policy, functions of soil microbes for plant health and the industrial scale-up of microorganism production to produce a healthier environment, among many other interesting speeches, research outcomes and recent findings. This webinar also showcased concrete destinations in Horizon Europe which may be funding opportunities for research and innovation in these fields. In sum, the presentations held had the objective of fostering ideas and innovations regarding applications of microorganisms in different sectors – and especially how these can have symbiotic effects with existing large organisms. The same applies to the second webinar, albeit the more technical content. The presentation in the November 19 webinar featured concrete suggestions and best practices with respect to the taxonomic composition of microbial communities, building databases for culturomics projects and using genomic libraries to study strain biodiversity, among other areas of application.

Over 340 participants from 42 countries attended the webinars, with the overwhelming majority (88%) coming from public organisations, that showed particular interest in MIRRI’s activities and future outlook. The partners of the H2020 project, IS_MIRRI21, were truly excited to have welcomed such a large crowd from different nations and more than happy to deliver information into the interesting and ever-dynamic world of microbiology and microorganisms. The presentation summaries can be read here.

For more information about MIRRI and microorganisms in general, make sure not to miss any of our upcoming event!

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Contacts:

For more information and feedback, please contact us at: franciscorocha@spi.pt; danielpichler@spi.pt.

IS_MIRRI21 engages with the public for #WorldMicrobiomeDay2021

The partners of the H2020 project, IS_MIRRI21, launched a webinar on 27 June 2021 for the annual event of World Microbiome Day. The event aimed to approach members of the society to investigate and bring recognition to the value of microorganisms in the world. The webinar was organised by two experts and representatives of MIRRI partner organisations, Giulia Cheloni (National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment, France) and Anna Poli (Università degli Studi di Torino, Italy) and other experts from the same institutions in France (Marwa Zaarour) and in Italy (Cristina Varese). The webinar had four main sessions, i) Demo about Microbiome and Microorganisms for a Sustainable World ii) Quiz on microbial biodiversity and sustainability, iii) a presentation on Culture collections and their role in microbial biodiversity preservation and exploration; and finally, iv) how IS_MIRRI21 intends to strengthen the impact of culture collection by connecting them. 

One of the key objectives of the event was to present how EU-funded projects such as IS_MIRRI21 are supporting the research and innovation ecosystem. In addition, an overall overview of how culture collections are used to preserve biodiversity and the roles of microbes in the sustainability of the environment was presented. Moreover, a video demo was used to explore the world of microorganisms and introduced the importance of the microbiome. The presentations were made with the intention of fostering ideas to build a sustainable world through the exploration and exploitation of symbiotic relationships between large- and micro-organisms. 

This was followed by an enlightening quiz on microbial biodiversity to later be used as a trigger for curiosity and debate during the Q&A session. A total of 77 participants attended the webinar, which was concluded with a heartfelt enjoyment and excitement for the next event. The webinar recording can be viewed here.

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Contacts:

For more information and feedback, please contact us at: franciscorocha@spi.pt; tedoraaibu@spi.pt

Call for a Special Issue

Call for the issue on “Microbiota Exploitation for the Development of Innovative and High Added-value Fermented Food”

To be published in the journal: Foods (ISSN 2304-8158) IF 4.092
Guest Editors: Dr. Luciana De Vero, Prof. Dr Andrea Pulvirenti, Prof. Dr.Ilaria Mannazzu

Fermentation of dairy products, vegetables, cereals, meat, and fish have emerged in human history, almost concomitantly across the different continents, as a strategy for the preservation of raw materials and the production of food and beverages for times of shortage. Since then, humankind has traditionally and empirically utilized fermentation not only for preservation purposes but also for the improvement of the organoleptic properties, texture, digestibility, palatability, and safety of all sorts of food matrices. This has led to the production of a myriad of fermented products that are the result of different cultural preferences and traditions and cover about thirty percent of the human diet, regardless of geographic area and lifestyle. Nowadays, fermentation is widely employed also to enrich food and beverages with beneficial viable microorganisms and/or their metabolites in order to positively impact human health. This result can be achieved either through the exploitation of the wild microbiota naturally associated with raw materials or as the result of the inoculation of selected starters and requires the characterization, preservation, management and circulation of microbial diversity.

Keeping into consideration the keywords “food microbiota” and “fermentation”, this Special Issue aims to collect original research papers, review articles, and short communications addressing novel and relevant findings on the applications of lactic acid bacteria, acetic acid bacteria, yeasts and filamentous fungi isolated from food matrices or preserved in culture collections. Of particular interest will be contributions regarding:

  • the characterisation, exploitation, and preservation of beneficial microbiota for fermented local-food production;
  • the development of high added-value and novel fermented products;
  • the reduction of chemical preservatives in food through the production of natural antimicrobials of microbial origin;
  • the production of bioactive compounds with health-promoting activity.

The deadline for submission is 31 August 2021 (with a possibility for extension).

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Applicants should indicate in the application cover letter that the manuscript is recommended by Dr. Vero.

Applicants and interested authors have the following discounts:

30% discount – available until 31 August 2021;
20% discount – available until 30 September 2021;

MIRRI successfully concludes its 1st TNA call for proposals and thanks all applicants

The Microbial Resource Research Infrastructure (MIRRI) is pleased to inform that recently, and after 3 months of continuous and intense dissemination, has successfully completed its 1st call for Transnational Access (TNA) under the IS_MIRRI21 project. Applications have been received from Europe, Africa and Latin America, covering fields as diverse as biotechnology, bioeconomy, pharmacology, agri-food and environmental conservation.

The process is now proceeding with the evaluation phase, where external experts review the submissions and select the most suitable ones to have funded access to develop their projects at the IS_MIRRI21 partners’ facilities. The awarded submissions will be announced on the 4th   of June on the IS_MIRRI21 TNA page and the access to the facilities will be granted from July 2021.

The unprecedented health crisis the world is living nowadays has made a lasting impact on research and the mobility of scientists. Notwithstanding, MIRRI and the IS_MIRRI21 project partners are always committed to guarantee, as much as possible, the access to its facilities and resources and keep supporting the development of meritorious research and innovation projects.

MIRRI and the IS_MIRRI21 project partners deeply appreciate the interest and the participation of all the applicants on this 1st Transnational Access call!

Publisher: Institut Pasteur

A series of seminars in April and May 2021 for Italian high schools

University of Torino (UNITO) and IS_MIRRI21 join the Scientific Degree Plan 2020-21 (PLS) to promote the acquisition of scientific skills that better meet the challenges of contemporary society and the expectations of the world of work by students.

The PLS (Piano Lauree Scientifiche) represents a consolidated initiative to promote the acquisition of scientific skills that better meet the challenges of contemporary society and the expectations of the world of work by students and to strengthen the impact of training on society. The actions aim to: a) systematize the practice of the “laboratory” for the teaching of basic sciences, in particular for the training orientation of female students and students of the last three years of secondary school; b) open new experimentations in schools and universities of didactic activities aimed at improving the preparation of students in relation to the knowledge required for entry to scientific degree courses; c) consolidate, develop and systematize the opportunities for professional growth of teachers of scientific subjects in service in the upper secondary school; and d) reduce the dropout rate between the first and second year during university studies through the innovation of teaching tools and methodologies.

Mycotheca Universitatis Taurinensis (MUT) will organize a series of seminars at various high schools in Turin (Italy) and its province to better raise awareness of microorganisms and their potential to face some of the great challenges of contemporary society. The seminars are conducted in Italian and the activities are organized into 3 main topics:

  • Microorganisms around us;
  • Microorganisms in the great societal challenges; and
  • Microorganisms as pivotal tools in environmental bioremediation.

Publisher: UNITO