Microbial consortia for biowaste management: life cycle analysis of novel strategies of bioconversion (MICROWASTE)

Abstract

Biological waste from agricultural and other sources is a both nuisance and a source of biotechnological opportunities. The Project MICROWASTE will develop and foster the understanding of microbial consortia involved in the degradation of the lignocellulosic matter present in agricultural biowaste (sugarcane remains [BR] and maize stalks [NL]). The two research groups have long track records of collaboration and are pioneers in the application of cultivation-independent tools to unravel the soil microbiota in terms of phylogeny and function. Moreover, they also pioneered studies on the interactions between bacteria and fungi in soils and biowaste processing. The current proposallinks the activities at the NL partner, which address the key microorganisms of biodegradative consortia and their interactions, as well soil indicators of ecosystem services, with those in BR, which address the soil microbial communities in agricultural and natural ecosystems. Together, we will focus on interactions of key players in microbial consortia and their enzymes (e.g. cellulases, laccases, etc.), next to their interactions. We will take a metagenomics approach, which will be combined with network analysis to pinpoint interactive species and key (novel) genes. These approaches will be also used to predict substrate degradability in soils, either with or without an added microbial consortium. Finally, the effect of consortia inoculation on ecosystem services will be assessed. The final outcome of the project will be (1) the availability of a stable microbial consortium which is robust due to its interactivity, with great potential to be applied for monomer production in reactors and in the field, (2) the assessment of the ecological gains of applying biowaste as opposed to the traditional way of burning or disposing it in soil, and (3) the prediction of the effects of biowaste incorporation on the soil processes. (AU)