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News - Bioengineering@TalTech

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Projects
Scientists searching for genes in Kohtla-Järve

In 1989 a fire broke out in oil shale mine in Kohtla Järve, Estonia and it took 48 days to extinguish. The burning oil shale released toxic phenolic compounds, threatening groundwater and consequently groundwater water bodies, including one of the major lakes, Lake Peipus, the 5th largest lake in Europe. For preventing a potential nature catastrophe, as Pseudomonas was already known to degrade phenolic compounds, an engineered Pseudomonas putida was released in the affected area as a measure of bioremediation. This event represents one of the first recorded deliberate release of a recombinant microbe into an ecosystem. Six years later, in 1995, the same gene sequence was found in native Pseudomonas, suggesting possible horizontal gene transfer.

To search for these genes, the scientist from MIT Voigt Lab traveled to Kohtla-Järve, Estonia to collect samples from the release site. This was already their second visit following the first one in Septemper 2023 when they extracted DNA from 68 soil and water samples collected around the release site. Alina Rekena, PhD student in Bioengineering is part of the project and helping with sample taking as well as analysis. The aim is to perform a metagenomic analysis to gain key insights into the implications of introducing engineered organisms into natural ecosystems.

Read more about this topic: Acquisition of a deliberately introduced phenol degradation operon, pheBA, by different indigenous Pseudomonas species | Applied and Environmental Microbiology
and Design and regulation of engineered bacteria for environmental release | Nature Microbiology

 

Projects
Myth busting workshop at Life Sciences Day

Bioengineering group held myth busting workshops during Life Sciences Day at Tallinn University of Technology

During the workshops the participants were introduced to different evolutionary and genetic techniques. They were shown how genetic engineering of microorganisms is conducted in the Bioengineering laboratory. Moreover, they participated in a video call to microorganisms under microscope, exploring the differences of wild and GM yeast.

The participants had also an opportunity to see the real life results of these techniques and try and see foods with exotic ingredients.

Life Sciences Day was aimed at high school students for introducing life sciences study programmes in Tallinn University of Technology.

Thank you Alīna Reķēna, Tommaso Tagliani, Kristjan Pals, Luísa Czamanski Nora and Kaisa Orgusaar for the contribution!

Projects
Petri-Jaan Lahtvee is the member of Research and Development Council

Petri-Jaan Lahtvee is a member of the new composition of the Research and Development Council (Teadus- Arendusnõukogu).

In April, the Research Council, chaired by Prime Minister Kristjan Michal, held its inaugural session. Among other renowned scientists and entrepreneurs is Petri-Jaan Lahtvee, Associate Professor of Bioengineering and co-founder of ÄIO.

The aim of the Research Council is to ensure that research developments reach companies swiftly, thereby helping to increase the productivity and added value of Estonian companies, improve export capacity and strengthen our position in the global market.

https://valitsus.ee/teadus-ja-arendusnoukogu-10 

Photo by Aivo Kallas

Event
Biotechnology opportunities in circular economy

Petri-Jaan Lahtvee presented the opportunities of wood valorization at Circular Economy Conference held by Circular Economy Laboratory in Tallinn University of Technology.

In his words, when it comes to wood, the majority today is still used for energy generation – one of the lowest-value uses imaginable. Emerging technologies now offer promising alternatives for chemical or biological valorization, yet the question remains: are we bold enough to invest in these innovations, even though they may still require optimisation and large-scale industrial validation?

These issues were discussed with experts from the timber and energy industries. In Petri´s personal view, innovation and extracting the highest possible value from our limited natural resources is the only viable path forward if Estonia wants to succeed in the global economy.

📷 by Arno Mikkor

General
Bioengineering laboratory now has a colony picking robot

We are happy to announce that colony picking robot has arrived to Bioengineering laboratory, making it a complete inventory for the biofoundry, together with the liquid handling robot and growth profiler.

This automated system streamlines microbial screening and selection processes, offering substantial benefits in research and production environments. As automation continues to revolutionize laboratory workflows, investing in such technology ensures that our researchers can maximize efficiency while maintaining high-quality results. A colony picking robot is a valuable asset in any bioengineering laboratory, offering speed, accuracy, sterility, and cost-effectiveness.

Over the next weeks, our team will work to develop workflows and make the best use of our newly arrived asset.

Event
Bioengineering winter seminar

Bioengineering team enjoyed their winter seminar and workshop at Valgehobusemäe. The winter seminar, carried out by Jaana Liigand-Juhkam, was conducted on values to enhance group´s collaboration. We learned about how values drive our everyday actions and what to do in case of value conflicts. To finish, we divided into groups to decipher research group´s own values for better collaboration.

We were lucky to have the outing during one of the most beautiful winter days. During free time, we indulged in wintersports and had the opportunity to learn skiing under our skilled senior researcher and ski enthusiast Rahul Kumar.

For more information about our values please read the About section.

Projects
Baltic Biotech database is now published

Baltic biotech database is now published! The database has gathered more than 2700 data points from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. It can be found from Bioconnect project website.

Whether you are looking for regional partners, relevant investors or a study programme, the database is a handy tool. It features information about:

  • Startups
  • Funding rounds
  • Industry players
  • VC-s and angel investors
  • Grants
  • Research institutes driving biotech discoveries
  • Academia and study programmes and
  • Hubs and facilitators, fostering growth and collaboration
Event
Biotech breakfast was a success

☕ The Biotech Breakfast organized as part of sTARTUp Day in Tartu, Estonia was packed with people!

The Biotechnology Breakfast was the final event of the BIOCONNECT (Towards an integrated Baltic-Nordic biotech cluster) project, organized by the Bioengineering and Food Technology research group together with the project partners.

During the project, the partners Biocatalyst Foundation (Latvia), the Latvian Institute of Organic Synthesis, the Association LithuaniaBIO, Vilnius University Life Sciences Center (Lithuania), the Estonian Center for BioSustainability, Tallinn University of Technology (Estonia), and Synbio Powerlabs (Finland) conducted interviews with Baltic biotech stakeholders to map the state, opportunities and bottlenecks of biotech industry in the region. Based on the gathered knowledge, a Baltic biotech action plan was created.

👩‍🏫 During the event, the newly completed Baltic biotech action plan was introduced by Andrii Shekhirev (Biocatalyst, LV) and disseminated for feedback.

In the opening speech, Ulrika Edvardsson from AstraZeneca Bio Venture Hub (SE) spoke about cross-sectoral cooperation. The day ended with a panel discussion by Mart Toots (Enterprise Estonia), Mika Kukkurainen (Nordic Foodtech VC), Laurynas Karpus (Biomatter) and Ulrika Edvardsson (AstraZeneca BioVenture Hub).

💬 The breakfast brought together the parties involved in biotechnology in the region: companies, public sector representatives, investors and researchers, which provided an opportunity to get to know each other and build connections. One of the important learnings during the project was that the biotech stakeholders do not even always know each other within the same region. The breakfast was a wonderful opportunity to meet in the same space and network: more cross-border interaction, which is exactly what the project aimed for.

👥👥The interest in the event was a success. There were over 80 people in the hall which was beyond expectations. Everyone was able to fit in and there was plenty of food🥐!

Thank you everyone who came and made the event happen!

People
Petri-Jaan Lahtvee was awarded with State medal

Associate professor Petri-Jaan Lahtvee was honoured with White Star Class IV State medal by Estonian president Alar Karis! 🏅

Every year, the President of Estonia gives State medal for people with very special services and devotion. The White Star State medal is awarded to persons in state or local government service, as well as in recognition of services and achievements in the fields of economics, education, science, culture or sports, or other public service.

BioEng lab is honoured to work under his supervision and care.

Huge congratulations! ✨

Photo by Priit Mürk/ERR.

Projects
Bioengineering laboratory acquired a liquid handling robot

This year Christmas came early and Bioengineering laboratory received its long awaited liquid handling robot. The team underwent a basic training how to create simple protocols and was made familiar with the robot´s multiple modules.

“We are very excited to have liquid handling robot in our laboratory and are hoping to keep it very busy”, said Juliano Sabedotti de Biaggi, the Head of Lab Automation.

The new robot enables automated pipetting and working in sterile conditions and is a wonderful addition for routine time consuming liquid handling operations.

The robot was bought as a part of biofoundry under establishment thanks to the DigiBio project of the European Horizon sub-program Widening for Excellence, within the framework of which 15 million euros are allocated from the European Commission and 15 million euros from the state budget of Estonia.

Event
Course on Bioethics

TalTech – Tallinn University of Technology Bioengineering team and University of Tartu hosted a course on bioethics under the umbrella of Estonian Centre for Biosustainability at Institute of Bioengineering.

📖 Over the course of two days, our staff and students were educated on the topics of responsible research, data management, GMOs, consent and biological samples, animal testing, novel foods, biosafety and international protocols such as Cartagena and Nagoya.

🧫 The participants had a chance to visit the premises of yet to be build biofoundry, the laboratories of gas fermentation and wood valorization and peek behind the doors of BSL3 laboratory in University of Tartu. The programme was complemented with group work and teaming activites.

👩‍🏫 A special thank you to the interdisciplinary contributors – Sadia Khalid, Kaisa Orgusaar, Professors Kadri Simm, Erkki Karo, Andres Merits, Mart Loog, Petri-Jaan Lahtvee, Hannes Kollist, Vallo Varik, Rainis Venta and Ilona Faustova.

The course was called into existence under DigiBio project of the Horizon sub-programme Widening for Excellence.

Projects
Researching yeasts in simulated microgravity with Litegrav

TalTech Bioengineering team and Litegrav started a collaboration project to investigate growth of yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae in simulated microgravity. The aim of the project is to expose yeast cells to different stimuli and stressors, such as microgravity and radiation that would affect microbes in space. In addition to application in space technologies, a purpose is also to find out whether the conditions relate to an industrial process on Earthly conditions. Until today, most of the research has been conducted on mammalian cells but now is time to look into microorganisms as well. This is a follow-up project to a previous one which researched strain optimization and screening in microgravity and radiation in both liquid and solid cultures. Let´s wish a successful collaboration for Patrik Hollos (Litegrav), Srdjan Gavrilovic, Lev Aleksandr Kolesnikov and Petri-Jaan Lahtvee (TalTech) working on the project.

 

 

Networking
Doctoral student Alīna Reķēna presented at 7th Applied Synthetic Biology in Europe

On 6-8th November, Bioengineering doctoral student Alīna Reķēna presented her work at 7th Applied Synthetic Biology in Europe in Brno, Czech republic. 

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.”

Projects
Student thesis in BioEng lab

Recently, four 11th grade students of Tallinna 32. Keskkool have been seen working in the bioengineering laboratory. The aspiring girls Grete-Liis Tammaru, Maia Tžikanov, Luisa Aleksejev ja Mari-Ann Rõuk decided to start a student company as part of their 11th grade research project and solve a problem that occurs in everyday life. Their student company PopZip is developing 3D printed reusable lids for resealing aluminum beverage cans. The girls described that the idea was born out of a personal need, because it is not always possible to drink the entire drink at once. However, the lid created by the girls makes it possible to close the can again and put it in a bag if necessary.
The girls reached the Bioengineering research group when they turned to Tallinn University of Technology to get advice on using suitable materials. From there, they were put in contact with Kerit-Lii Joasoon, a master’s student working under senior researcher Rahul Kumar in the Bioengineering research group and Tommaso Tagliani, who have been helping PopZip with the prototype. In cooperation, a prototype has been developed and different materials have been tested. Silicone was chosen as the material for the product, since is suitable for contact with food as it is inert and has good properties for 3D printing as well as elasticity, water resistance and durability.

Event
Inna Lipova was one among the finalists in Science in Three minutes competition

On 18th October The Science in three minutes competition found it´s end during an official gala. The competition initiated by Estonian Academy of Sciences was held in English for the first time. Bioengineering doctoral student Inna Lipova was one among the nominees and gave a powerful presentation about how food waste is being valorized into high value-added carotenoid astaxanthin through bioprocess.

Read more about Innas´s research here.

 

GeneralProjects
Growth profiler offers opportunites for high throughput microbial screening

As a part of biofoundry under establishment, bioengineering lab received its very own growth profiler. The state-of-the-art machine allows high throughput screening of microbial strains and growth media on µL scale. The Head of Automation Juliano Sabedotti de Biaggi described that the growth profiler can fit up to ten autoclavable 96-well microtiter plates, allowing monitoring 960 conditions at once. “However, usually the tests are conducted in triplicates which means monitoring of 320 strains or growth medias in parallel. The advantage of the microplates are that they can be covered with a lid, allowing control of gas exchange and evaporation. The machine is complemented with a camera which performs online optical density measurements, therefore obsoleting the need to measure each sample individually and manually.” With as many as 960 samples we are relieved to have this automated function!

The machine is a valuable asset for bioengineering laboratory as it offers the possibility of broader screening of microbial strains. Therefore microbial strains with different mutations can be screened at once, broadening the possibility to find the ones with best characteristics.

The growth profiler was sourced under DigiBio joint project with TalTech, University of Tartu and Danish Technical University, which received 15 million € from European Union and 15 million € from Estonian government.

Projects
Bioengineering and Fibenol joint project was nomi-nated for Tallinn Entrepreneurial Awards

Joint collaboration project between Bioengineering group and Fibenol “Biotechnological processing of wood and food waste into feed and food supplements”  was one among the three nominees at Tallinn´s entrepreneurial awards. During the project wood industry residues, such as pre-processed sawdust was converted into healthy feed and food additives.

The project was funded from Environmental Investment Service.

Thank you for the recognition!

 

 

Event
Scientists´ Night 2024

Bioengineering opened its laboratory for visitors for Scientists´ Night organized by TalTech. For one night, students, adults as well as children had the chance to explore fluoroscent bacteria, see 3D printing of hydrogels and engage in conversations with our doctoral students. The children had an opportunity to learn about nucleotides and build a sweet model of DNA helix. Moreover, they could have hands-on learning experience in the difference of plant and animal cells.

EventNetworking
Henrique and Katharina participated at Engineering Living Materials Conference

Our doctoral student Henrique and visiting Master´s student Katharina participated in the 4th Engineered Living Materials conference in Saarbrücken, Germany. They presented current work done in the Bioengineering Group on biocontainment and novel matrix formation in hydrogels, respectively. The conference not only dealt with the technical aspects of the discipline, but also had a discussion on public outreach and regulatory hurdles to overcome for further development within the field. Participants got a better understanding of the ongoing research and the bottlenecks we all need to excel to grow our ideas further. In several interesting talks, new advances and inspiring ideas in the highly interdisciplinary field were shared. Some of Katharina´s highlights included alternative textiles from bacterial cellulose, fungi-based and biomineralized building materials and toxin-sensing materials.