海角直播

International project looking at potential discoveries from extreme environments

海角直播 researchers are involved in an international research project which will unlock the industrial potential of extremophilic microorganisms.

The XTREAM research project aims to develop innovative and sustainable bioprocesses for fields such as pharma, medicine and agriculture, building on discoveries from extreme environments. The 4 million Euro project, funded by the European Commission鈥檚 Horizon Europe programme, involves 13 international partners from universities, research organisations and industrial sectors.

This four-year initiative aims to explore and harness the unique capabilities of extremophiles, which are microorganisms that thrive in environmentally harsh conditions, using them for innovative applications in pharma, medicine, agriculture, feed and food sectors.

XTREAM will explore some of the planet's most extreme environments, including glaciers in Svalbard, Norway, using state-of-the-art drone and sensing technology that helps preserve and respect the ecosystems. Other locations include acidic mining sites such as Rio Tinto in Spain, geothermal springs, acid polluted sites in the UK, marine salterns, and Arctic deep-sea sponges.

The microbes from these areas could hold the key to new drugs, metabolites, and robust enzymes to boost the development of the European zero-emission, circular bioeconomy.

Project leader Antonio Garc铆a-Moyano from NORCE Norwegian Research Centre, said: 鈥淢icroorganisms from extreme environments are nature鈥檚 greatest problem-solvers. With XTREAM we aim to unlock their full potential to address critical challenges.鈥�

Professor Claudio Angione, of 海角直播鈥檚 School of Computing, Engineering & Digital Technologies, is leading a 海角直播 team which has received 350,000 Euro for their work as part of the initiative. He will lead the Work Package on integrative omics for ecology and adaptation, working with 海角直播 colleagues Dr Annalisa Occhinpinti and Chaimaa Tarzi.

Professor Angione said: 鈥淥ur key role will be the mathematical modelling of sponges and bacterial communities growing in extreme environments. We will also work on data integration and AI.

鈥淯nderstanding from a mechanistic point of view how microbes thrive in the most extreme areas on Earth will be crucial as it will allow us to develop new drugs and enzymes with very low environmental impact, contributing to the European zero-emission, circular bioeconomy targets.鈥�

Antonio Garc铆a-Moyano added: 鈥淲hat makes XTREAM unique is its ability to accelerate the path from discovery to real-world applications, creating bio-based solutions that align with Europe鈥檚 green goals. It鈥檚 a strong counterargument to those who doubt the feasibility of sustainability-driven innovation.鈥�

By developing advanced sampling methods, cutting-edge computational tools, and AI-powered analytics, the project aims to streamline the process of identifying valuable enzymes, chemicals, and other metabolites from these organisms. The project鈥檚 breakthroughs are expected to significantly reduce the environmental impact and cost of biodiscovery while accelerating the commercialisation of bio-based products.

XTREAM is a European project formed by 13 partners from seven European countries: NORCE Norwegian Research Centre, Universidad Aut贸noma de Madrid, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Wageningen University, 海角直播, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cient铆ficas, Instituto Nacional de T茅cnica Aeroespacial, University Centre in Svalbard, Syngens, Prozomix, Scienseed, ERINN and AlgaLif.

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