IBCarb - Glycoscience Tools for Biotechnology and Bioenergy

碳水化合物是地球上最大的生物质来源，开发碳水化合物在生物材料、能源、粮食和健康方面的新应用，对于摆脱对碳氢化合物的依赖，发展可持续生物技术和减少温室气体排放，确保能源和粮食安全至关重要。糖科学是一个广泛的术语，用于涉及碳水化合物的所有研究和技术，从细胞生物学，人类营养和医学到基于碳水化合物的材料以及碳水化合物转化为能量。因此，碳水化合物的分析、合成和生物合成以及它们对工业产品的修饰是工业生物技术和生物能源的核心挑战。在过去的二十年里，糖科学发生了许多根本性的变化，在碳水化合物合成和修饰、酶学和糖组学分析方面产生了技术推动。与此同时，技术拉动-在不同领域有巨大的需求和机会，如生物制药（全球10种最畅销的药物中有8种是糖蛋白），食品（为人类肠道微生物群设计的益生元），抗菌剂（针对细胞表面识别和生物合成），材料（来自生物可再生多糖）或能源（消化难消化物）。在一些政策会议上，国际糖科学界与英国学者的领导已经确定了迫切需要形成一个跨学科的网络，IBCarb，以利用糖科学提供的机会。

Carbohydrates constitute the largest source of biomass on Earth and their exploitation for novel applications in biomaterials, energy, food and health will be critical in moving away from dependence on hydrocarbons to develop sustainable biotechnologies and reduce GHG emissions, ensuring both energy and food security. Glycoscience is a broad term used for all research and technology involving carbohydrates, ranging from cell biology, human nutrition and medicine to carbohydrate-based materials and the conversion of carbohydrates to energy. The analysis, synthesis and biosynthesis of carbohydrates and their modification to industrial products are, therefore, central challenges in both industrial biotechnology and bioenergy. The last twenty years have seen a number of fundamental changes in the Glycosciences generating a technology push with respect to carbohydrate synthesis and modification, enzymology and glycomic analysis. At the same time, there is a technology pull - great demand and opportunities in diverse areas such as biopharmaceuticals (8 out of 10 top selling drugs worldwide are glycoproteins), foods (prebiotics designed for the human gut microbiota), antimicrobials (targeting cell surface recognition and biosynthesis), materials (from biorenewable polysaccharides) or energy (digesting the indigestible). In a number of policy meetings the international Glycoscience community with leadership from a number of UK academics has identified an urgent need to form an interdisciplinary network, IBCarb, to allow for exploitation of opportunities presented by Glycoscience.