Researchers from the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) participate in the SynBio4Flav project, which develops a technology for the production of flavonoids and other highly complex natural substances using microbial communities as biofactors. This new technology could become a sustainable alternative to conventional crops for the traditional production of these substances from plant extracts, ecologically inefficient and with very low yields. Flavonoids are very valuable compounds because of their many applications in medicine, cosmetics and food.

The project, led by researcher from the National Center for Biotechnology (CNB-CSIC) Juan Nogales, develops a production technology that allows more efficient use of available resources through the use of microbial communities capable of replicating the synthesis processes of flavonoids . plants. SynBio4Flav’s pioneering approach has the potential to be applied to the sustainable production of other complex organic compounds, says Nogales.

Researchers take advantage of the great biosynthetic potential of microbes and their ability to coexist in synergistic communities. Instead of a single microbial species being adapted to produce flavonoids, the different stages of the production process are distributed across multiple species. It is a method based on the functional complementarity of microbial communities, where the output of one species serves as a resource for another, the researchers explain.

The ultimate goal of the project is to develop local microbial factories with a great potential to convert urban and agricultural organic waste into natural products with added value. The potential economic and environmental benefits are many, as it would allow compounds to become currently expensive and scarce , in addition to contributing to the conservation of natural resources, Nogales says.

SynBio4Flav is a project funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program and involves participation from research organisations, academic institutions, SMEs and large leading companies from Spain, Germany, Sweden, Poland, France, Italy and Austria.