The Fungal Bioluminescence Laboratory (LBF) from the University of São Paulo focuses on studying bioluminescent systems, environmental metagenomics, and introducing useful genes into microorganisms to make them perform specific tasks. In the HELVA project, the LBF team is responsible for isolating and engineering certain bacteria strains capable of producing polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), biodegradable polymers that have the potential to replace petrochemical plastics. Their approach combines field sampling of bacterial strains from ecosystems like the Atlantic Forest with laboratory-based genetic engineering to enhance microbial PHA production. For the first chapter of the “Meet Our Team” series, we have interviewed Prof. Cassius Vinicius Stevani, leader of the LBF team, to learn more about their research and expectations and contributions to the HELVA project.
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Project HELVA was selected in the Joint Transnational Call 2022 of M-ERA.NET 3, which is an EU-funded network of about 49 funding organisations (Horizon 2020 grant agreement No 958174). The project is funded by the Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI, Spain); National Science Centre (NCN, Poland); São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP, Brazil).