WORK PACKAGE 1
About WP1
Selection, isolation, characterization of the biologics to degrade the target pollutants
Objectives:
The overall aim is to obtain individual biologics for efficient integration in bioremediation systems applied to Nymphe sites. The specific objectives are:
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to define a set of high-performance enzymes with their bacterial hosts for target-specific degradation;
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to obtain isolates and enriched microbial consortia as well as wild and variants of microalgae strains, with enhanced capacity for the degradation of organic contaminants;
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to select and develop native and genomically edited plants and their associated microbiota for the attenuation of soil pollution;
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to characterize the capacity of living bivalves as biofilters and bivalve shells as biosorbents;
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to assess earthworms as biostimulants of microbial pollutant degraders and bioremediation tools.
Description of work:
All WP1 tasks flow for the design of cooperative systems in WP2, which will also characterize all microbial communities obtained with NGS approaches. Direct feedback loops between WP1 and WP3 are also in place for improvement of biologics performances using natural evolution, genomic edition, and formulations. The biologics will be selected in WP1 complying with Nymphe’s field sites, hence with immediate interdependency with WP4
regarding contaminants to be addressed and efficiency assessment methods.
WP1 SUMMARY
Lead beneficiary: UAVR
Start Month: 1
End Month: 24
The first work package at NYMPHE focused on the selection and characterisation of all biologicals for the bioremediation systems being developed under the project. Twelve partners analyzed degradative enzymes, microbial strains, plants, bivalves, and earthworms to assess their effectiveness in cleaning wastewater, groundwater, river sediments, and soils from organic contaminants.
1. ENZYMES:
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500+ enzymes were selected from hundreds of millions of genetic sequences using bioinformatics tools.
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Enzymes were synthesized and tested in vitro for degrading pharmaceuticals, hydrocarbons, plastics, and pesticides.
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Most enzymes achieved over 80% degradation efficiency.
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These enzymes will enhance microbial biologics for advanced bioremediation applications in the NYMPHE project.
2. MICROBIAL BIOLOGICS:
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Selected bacteria, fungi, and microalgae to clean wastewater, river sediments, and industrial/agricultural soils from pharmaceuticals, hydrocarbons, microplastics, and pesticides.
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Identified 5 bacterial strains and 50 microbial consortia for pharmaceutical degradation in water and sediments.
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30 bacterial strains and 5 microbial consortia effective in breaking down plastics in wastewater.
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13 microbial consortia and 15 bacterial strains selected for hydrocarbon degradation in industrial soils and groundwater.
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2 microbial consortia and 1 fungal strain degrade plastics in agricultural soils, while 30 bacterial strains support pesticide degradation.
3. PLANTS AND THEIR MICROBIOTA
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Sunflower chosen for its ability to support hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria in polluted industrial soils.
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Isolated 150 bacterial strains, many effective in hydrocarbon degradation and plant growth promotion.
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Genetically modified tobacco selected for its potential to degrade organic pollutants, including hydrocarbons.
4. ANIMAL BIOLOGICS
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Bivalves tested for pharmaceutical removal from wastewater - limited effectiveness in living organisms, but their pyrolyzed shells showed strong biosorption potential.
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Earthworms assessed for pesticide degradation in soils - two species significantly accelerated degradation, while the combination of three species had a synergistic effect, enhancing bioremediation.
