環境ゲノムと機械学習の融合による未知代謝機能の解明と環境工学イノベーションの創出

2021 Fiscal Year Annual Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20F20346
• Research Institution: National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
• Principal Investigator: 延 優 国立研究開発法人産業技術総合研究所, 生命工学領域, 研究員 (40805644)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): LENG LING 国立研究開発法人産業技術総合研究所, 生命工学領域, 外国人特別研究員
• Project Period (FY): 2020-11-13 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: Metagenomics / Biotechnology

Outline of Annual Research Achievements

We employed a machine learning-based approach that utilizes two foundational biological features of aromatic compound degradation: activation and organization. The fellow and host successfully identified novel metabolic pathways and organisms involved in utilization and conversion of complex aromatics compounds in wastewater treatment processes. Further evolutionary analyses showed how many contemporarily evolved in plastics industry wastewater streams. The results are expected to bring high impact to the microbiology and engineering communities and will be submitted for publication soon.

Current Status of Research Progress

2: Research has progressed on the whole more than it was originally planned.

Reason

Research proceeded well despite setbacks from COVID-19.

Strategy for Future Research Activity

We successfully identified many genes potentially comprising novel metabolic pathways for aromatic compound degradation. Among these, some were predicted to have evolved very recently and further analyses revealed that these were involved in degradation of xenobiotic pollutants in industrial plastics production wastewater streams, so we will further investigate these novel genes/pathways and their evolutionary history to bring high impact to the microbiology and engineering research community.