***

Ever since I learned about industrial bioreactors at university, I have been curious to try them out and grow microbial biomass in them. Participating in the COST Action Mic2Food Training School gave me the opportunity to do exactly that—and for me, it was a dream come true!

Training School took place at the pilot plant of the Department of Biotechnology and Food Microbiology at Poznań University of Life Sciences in Poland. Its topic was “Mycoprotein production: from upstream processing to downstream processing, product formulation and techno-economic simulation”. Every day was filled with informative lectures and hands-on practical sessions.

Getting to know the bioreactor

Most of the first few days were spent in the university’s pilot plant, learning about the structure and operation of a 60 L bioreactor. The facility covers more than 400 square metres and supports bioprocess research, technology scale-up, and the assessment of economic feasibility. It was filled with intriguing biotechnology equipment, including bioreactors ranging from 0.5 L to an enormous 1500 L vessel used for production trials.

During the practical sessions, we prepared the bioreactor, mixed the cultivation media, and carried out sterilisation. The inoculation step was particularly memorable: using 2 L of inoculum was very different from what I was used to in a university laboratory!

That was also a moment of realisation. In industrial production, a bioreactor of this size could be used to prepare the inoculum for a much larger vessel. What seemed large to me was still just one step towards production at an industrial scale. The biomass was grown under optimal conditions for about 27 hours—a surprisingly short time.

From cultivation to biomass analysis

Before harvesting, we heat-treated the mycoprotein biomass to reduce its RNA content. What surprised me was that this important step was associated with a biomass loss of around 30%. It was a striking example of how a necessary processing step can affect the final yield.

Once the Fusarium venenatum biomass (mycoprotein) had been harvested, it was time for analysis. We examined it under the microscope, measured its dry matter content, and carried out protein, phosphate, and RNA analyses.

Bringing mycoprotein into the kitchen

Another fun part of the programme was the product development session in the university’s test kitchen. Although we did not use the biomass we had produced ourselves, we worked with ready-to-use ENOUGH mycoprotein to try several recipes for chicken-style fillets and one for burger patties.

After spending so much time learning about cultivation and processing, it was exciting to explore what mycoprotein could become on a plate!

The programme was intense, but it was absolutely worth it. I came away with new knowledge, practical experience, and new connections—and even more enthusiasm for working with larger industrial bioreactors in the future.

A big thank you to Katarzyna Polanowska for organising such an amazing training school! Thank you also to our outstanding supervisors, Myrsini Sakarika, Wojciech Bialas, Piotr Kubiak, Agnieszka Droždžynska, and Craig Johnston, for your guidance and support throughout the programme.

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Mid-term Meeting 

Meeting held at CIEMAT, and coordinated by IMDEA Energía Energy, in Madrid. 

During the meeting, each Doctoral Candidate presented the main achievements and activities developed within their Individual Research Projects since the last meeting, showcasing the excellent progress being made across the programme. These sessions provided valuable discussions, feedback, and new perspectives, reinforcing the collaborative spirit of the project.  

Biorefinery for Biofuels & Chemicals Training 

The training was held in Turku, Finland. The three-day training provided an in-depth overview of modern biorefinery concepts and sustainable biomass valorization, covering topics such as lignocellulosic biomass processing, thermochemical conversion technologies, algae-based biorefineries, bioactive compounds, and industrial case studies from pilot-scale biorefineries.  

The workshop fostered interdisciplinary learning and collaboration while strengthening expertise in circular bioeconomy and sustainable production of biofuels and biochemicals.

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The aim of the summer school was to introduce the participants to the analysis of biological data using infrared spectroscopy and machine learning. Through lectures and a hands-on interdisciplinary project, it provided practical skills in FTIR data processing, spectral pre-treatment, multivariate analysis and machine-learning methods, while strengthening the ability to tackle complex bioscience problems collaboratively.  

These skills and insights are directly relevant to research involving biological samples and spectroscopic data. 

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Alīna made an oral presentation on the topic of Chemostats and Omics: Tools to Improve Lipid-producing Yeasts.

Juliano presented a poster and had a flash talk on the topic of Digitalisation of biology: the dawning of the Taltech Biofoundry.

The conference covered the great scope of microbiology research in the Baltics, from virology to biotechnology. The program was involving and allowed everyone to speak at the main stage. Even though it was centered in the Baltics, the conference also had attendees from Germany, Italy and the USA.

Juliano noted that the 6^th CBM was a great opportunity to present the first steps of the Estonian Biofoundry in Taltech, as one of this project’s goals is to enhance regional development by extending the biosustainable research and industrial practices in the Baltic region. At the same time, it is always good to catch up on what our peers are working on, and to get out of the Biotech bubble to see that we a just part of a bigger research effort to make our world a better place in the long term.

Alīna noted that the Selection of talks highlighted the interdisciplinarity of microbiology research in the Baltic countries. Closer to our expertise, the sessions on microbial diversity and waste valorisation allowed us to learn more about microbes, their origin, and biotechnological applicability. She presented our work at the Metabolic Engineering and Systems Biology session on exploring metabolic mechanisms of lipid-producing yeast Rhodotorula toruloides for industrial applications.

 

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She gave a delightful feedback: “I am very satisfied with the participation at ASBE7 conference, where I presented our work with CRISPR to uncover lipid synthesis mechanisms in Rhodotorula toruloides: a nonconventional host for microbial lipids and oleochemicals for circular economy. ASBE7 featured a fantastic venue in Brno Planetarium and Observatory with a great atmosphere. Selection of talks covered topics from microbial and mammalian to cell-free synthesis platforms. Many great talks offered by the generous programme of wide range of topics for everyone to find their favorite. I want to acknowledge the Estonian Doctoral School for the financial support to attend the conference.”

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We are now looking forward to the kick-off meeting of the project in Tallinn on 23-24th September at the Estonian Academy of Arts. This gathering will be a valuable contribution to the project, where we aim to explore and integrate diverse perspectives on biotechnology’s role in historical and contemporary contexts.

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