Microbes for a sustainable future with Eveline Peeters

Eveline Peeters is an Associate Professor in the Bioengineering Sciences Department at VUB, and a member of Microbiology Research Group. She holds a PhD in Bioengineering Sciences, during which she studied extremophilic archaea, prokaryotes thriving in extreme conditions, and worked together with her mentor Daniël Charlier to investigate molecular mechanisms of transcription regulation with a focus on unravelling protein-DNA interactions. As a postdoc, she worked together with other leading archaeal researchers at the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen (Netherlands), Université Paris-Sud (France) and Institut Pasteur (France). Currently, she leads a research team in molecular and synthetic microbiology, with a focus on application-driven research related to microbes in all domains of life. Challenges related to environmental pollution and climate change create a sense of urgency that stimulates synthetic biology research and research in the context of the transition from a classical petrochemical to a biobased industry. She is convinced that the use of microbial cell factories for a large-scale biological manufacturing of chemicals and materials is a very promising technology in such a biobased industry.
There is an increasing awareness of the negative consequences of a growing economy that is highly dependent on the use of fossil fuels, including for transportation and for the production of chemicals for daily use, such as plastics. To find solutions for this problem, bio-engineers are looking towards microbes. It has long been known that microorganisms have the interesting property of converting organic waste, or CO2 itself, into valuable chemicals, such as biofuels or biodegradable plastics. When this is realized on a large scale in bioreactors, a sustainable process is created that is CO2-neutral and therefore more environmentally friendly. In addition, circular processes can be realized, whereby the chemicals or materials produced are reused in a biological production process at the end of their lifespan. Prof. Peeters will illustrate this with examples, ranging from the use of bacteria for the production of bioethanol to the use of filamentous fungi for a new type of construction material. But why has the industry not yet taken the step towards large-scale application of these sustainable alternative processes? A major problem is that they are not profitable. Improving these yields is therefore one of the main objectives of the new research field of 'synthetic biology'. Modifying micro-organisms using 'smart' genetic engineering can lead to increased yields or entirely new products. In this way, maybe one day the clothes we wear and the houses in which we live, will consist of microbes and microbially produced materials. And what if we keep the microbes alive?
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[@michaelp8373]

Spectacular research, go Girl, go.

[@ANOLDMASTERJUKZ]

Totaly, we could have a therapeutic shoe worn without socks, the fungi would live off the sweat, dead skin cells, dirt, and invasive fungi like the toenail fungi ( Tinea Unguium ).

[@allenanderson4911]

I always thought chitin is the ultimate bio plastic. Look at the variety of crab and beetle carapaces/exoskeletons. The future plastic plant will look very much like a beer brewery. High fructose cornsurup and water, a few minerals...and bam!! Mycellial chitin on tap.