Industrial extremozymes

Principal Investigator: Bruno Franzetti

Group members involved: Alexandra Crété, Eric Girard

Extremophilic genomes and metagenomes represent a unique resource for novel biocatalysts. They are naturally engineered to function and remain stable in a number of industrial processes often combining unusual physico-chemical conditions. We have a specific interest in the identification of novel extremophilic proteases and peptidases. We develop protocols to purify these enzymes and to identify their natural substrates. We use the ELMA BioHP platform to specify their optimal condition for activity in a wide range of cold/hot temperature, pressure and solvent condition. We also determine their structure to understand in detail their mode of action and the molecular mechanisms underlying their exceptional stability. Our work allowed to discover novel peptidases and to design enzymes cocktails with unprecedented peptide modification properties (3 European patents). A start-up company, “Deep Blue Process”, is following a business incubation program in order to develop this technology with the support of the technology transfer company Linksium.