Metabolic Pathway Mapping and CRISPR Optimization for Use in a Mokeculture Platform

Active phytochemical ingredients (APIs), with their wide-ranging applications in the nutraceutical, cosmetics and biopharmaceutical sectors, represent a significant market. Conventional API production relies on farming or gathering, resulting in inefficient use of arable land, contributing to pollution and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. What's more, some API plants mature slowly, and their production is often limited.

Faced with these challenges, alternative approaches, notably biotechnology based on microorganisms, have emerged. However, some APIs are poorly adapted to these methods, and the considerable costs involved in growing microorganisms make the biotechnological approach uneconomical.

Aplantex proposes an innovative solution based on a biotechnology platform using the biomass of fast-growing plants (specific species of the Araceae family). This approach capitalizes on plant genetics to synthesize APIs, offering an economical and ecological alternative.

To fully exploit this platform, a thorough understanding of the omics of the plant host organism is crucial, as is optimization of the CRISPR system for genetic modification.

The project presented aims to achieve these key objectives, paving the way for bioengineering and synthetic biology applied to the host organism. This approach promises to improve API production in a sustainable way, contributing to economic growth while preserving the environment.