NSERC Industrial Biocatalysis Network

通过能源密集型的制造过程，石油和天然气被转化为塑料、化学品和其他工业和消费品。如果这些产品由可再生资源（如农业和林业废弃物）制成，并且使用消耗更少能源的工艺制造，那么这些产品将更具环境可持续性。其中一个过程是生物催化，微生物利用天然或工程酶生产商品化学品、塑料、营养品和其他产品，就像细菌已经从牛奶中生产奶酪和酸奶一样。****基因组学研究项目正在揭示数千种——可能是数百万种——新的酶，但到目前为止，我们对酶过程的有限理解阻碍了它们在工业上的更广泛应用。NSERC工业生物催化网络（IBN）通过一个杰出的多学科研究团队和领先的生物技术公司专注于工业相关的酶和生物过程来解决这个问题。这个协调的研究网络将挖掘由之前三个加拿大基因组学项目产生的巨大数据集，用于工业应用。**** IBN将通过发现催化新化学反应的新酶，以及开发用可再生或低成本材料合成商品化学品、塑料和其他有价值产品的工业微生物，来减少制造业对环境的总体影响。IBN将针对广泛的工业应用，包括食品、动物饲料、合成化学、塑料、采矿和林业。加拿大拥有丰富的自然资源，很有可能成为新“生物经济”的领导者，通过IBN取得的发现将支持新兴生物基化学和材料部门的增长。********

Oil and gas are converted to plastics, chemicals, and other industrial and consumer products through energy-intensive manufacturing processes. These products would be more environmentally sustainable if they were made from renewable resources, such as agricultural and forestry waste, and if they were manufactured using processes that use less energy. One such process is biocatalysis, in which microorganisms produce commodity chemicals, plastics, nutraceuticals and other products using natural or engineered enzymes, much as bacteria already make cheese and yogurt from milk.****Genomics research projects are revealing thousands - possibly millions - of new enzymes, but our limited understanding of enzyme processes has hampered their more widespread use in industry thus far. The NSERC Industrial Biocatalysis Network (IBN) addresses this problem by engaging an outstanding multi-disciplinary team of researchers and leading biotechnology companies to focus on industry-relevant enzymes and biological processes. This coordinated research network will mine the immense datasets generated by three previous Canadian genomics projects for industrial applications.****The IBN will reduce the overall environmental impact of manufacturing by discovering new enzymes that catalyze new chemical reactions, and developing industrial microorganisms that synthesize commodity chemicals, plastics, and other valuable products from renewable or low-cost materials. The IBN will target a broad range of industrial applications, including food, animal feed, synthetic chemistry, plastics, mining and forestry. With its abundant natural resources, Canada is well placed to be a leader in the new "bio-economy", and the discoveries made through the IBN will support the growth of the emerging bio-based chemical and materials sector.********