Genetically modified yeast helps produce greener products

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About the research

Did you know that many products in your shopping cart contain 'surfactants'? For example, this 'magic' ingredient provides foaming soap to longer-lasting food! But did you also know that nearly half of surfactants come from petroleum?

In her research, bioengineer Elvira Bytyqi (UGent - FWO) is working on an eco-friendly alternative: biosurfactants! 🌱 For this, she starts from a yeast that naturally makes biosurfactants, but unfortunately on far too small a scale. By genetically optimizing these yeasts in the lab, Elvira wants to make them grow more efficiently and produce more sustainable biosurfactants. Good for you and for the planet!

Sustainability
Agriculture
Elvira Bytyqi
FWO - UGent

With a master's degree in Bioengineering, Cell and Gene Biotechnology, Elvira Bytyqi works as a doctoral researcher at the Center for Industrial Biotechnology and Biocatalysis in Ghent. With the support of the FWO, she is investigating how yeasts can be genetically modified to produce biosurfactants.

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