Pesticides constitute priority pollutants for natural resources. Microbes, mostly in the form of microbial consortia are pivotal in the in situ pesticide biodegradation. EMIGRATE aims to investigate the complex interactions driving the coherence and biodegradation capacity of natural bacterial consortia, and through this, enable the production of biotechnological and bioengineering tools for novel environmental clean-up strategies. A microbial consortium degrading the fungicide thiabendazole used in fruit-packaging plants will be used as a model. This choice is based on the high biotechnological potential of this consortium considering the environmental risk associated with the use pattern, recalcitrance and toxicity of this fungicide and the complete lack of information regarding its microbial metabolism. Through its innovative research EMIGRATE will facilitate the re-integration of the fellow to the local and EU research community. Project's objectives will be achieved through 7 work-packages: WP1 will deal with project management, IPR and results exploitation, WP2 will focus on fellow's training and WP3 on the dissemination and public engagement of project's findings. WP4 will focus on the in-depth phylogenetic characterization of the bacterial consortium and the identification of the roles of consortium members on pesticide metabolism (Stable Isotope Probing - amplicon sequencing). WP5 will assign wider functional roles to consortium members, identify key catabolic genes and elucidate the metabolic pathway of the fungicide via a meta-genomics, -transcriptomics, -metabolomics approach. Finally, WP6 and WP7 will exploit the bacterial consortium for isolation of novel enzymes-biocatalysts and the development of an innovative biological process for the depuration of the relevant agro-industrial effluents. Secondments to academic and industrial partners will be carried out for skill development of the fellow on isotopic techniques, metabolomics and bioengineering.

With the increasing world population, reduced farmland and demand for heightened global food security, comes the need for new sustainable, effective and environmentally friendly agricultural solutions. The extensive use of toxic agrochemicals has been rendered obsolete, whereas the employment of transgenic plants and genetically modified organisms (GMOs) has raised considerable public and scientific concerns. The current proposal aims to develop GMO-free tools to modify and protect crops based solely on RNA sprays. The candidate has recently developed a simple, cheap and efficient method for RNA delivery into plant cells by high pressure spraying. Using this method, we now aim to develop RNA sprays to selectively downregulate (RNA interference, RNAi) and upregulate (RNA activation, RNAa) genes involved in crop protection and improvement. In the current proposal, we will focus on tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), one of the most important dicot vegetable crops worldwide. On the one hand, through RNAi sprays, we will aim to combat some of tomato's most important and diverse pests by inactivating crucial for their development genes. On the other hand, through RNAa sprays, we will try to activate selected tomato genes by decoying and sequestering their micro RNA (miRNA) regulators. Methods for optimizing the stability of sprayed RNAs into plant cells for field condition applications by conjugating them to carrier compounds will be tested. The multidisciplinary nature of the project is strong, involving a combination of molecular biology, microbiology, plant biology, virology, mycology, entomology and biochemistry. This proposal includes the transfer of knowledge to the host institute and the training of the candidate. Expected results will point towards a new direction of GMO-free plant breeding tools, in line with the EU strategy for sustainable agriculture.