As part of the Development Research Grants call, NPOO.C3.2.R2-I1.06, the project 'Enzyme Engineering for Sustainable Bioplastic Recycling' has been approved with a value of 613.614,53 EUR.

Duration: 1.7.2023. do 30.6.2026.

Funding: European Union – NextGenerationEU

The project "Enzyme Engineering for Sustainable Bioplastic Recycling" aims to identify metagenomic (poly)esterases that exhibit activity towards bioplastics, particularly polylactic acid, the most prevalent polymer in the bioplastics market.

The project integrates bioinformatics approaches to identify polyesterases with potential activity towards polylactic acid, optimize the heterologous expression of identified enzymes in E. coli, refine purification protocols, and experimentally resolve the structures of enzymes showing activity towards bioplastic polymers.

🎯 The ultimate goal of this project is to create innovative solutions for bioplastic recycling through the integration of enzyme engineering and to lay the foundation for future biotechnological applications in the field of sustainable plastic waste management.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Aleksandra Maršavelski (Principal Investigator)
Asst. Prof. Dr. Ivana Kekez
Dr. Marija Pranjić
Dr. Valentina Ević
Lucija Brtan, univ. mag. chem.
Zrinka Pišonić, univ. mag. chem.
Dino Koranić (Master's student)
Mario Oraić (Master's student)

GROUP VISITS

PhD Students

• 3rd March 2024 – 16th March 2024

  PhD student Marija Nenadović from the Laboratory for Microbial Molecular Genetics and Ecology, Institute of Molecular Genetics and Genetic Engineering, University of Belgrade, Serbia, visited the group.

  • Research topic: "Enciphering Savinase-PLA Interactions for Biocatalytic Bioplastic Conversion."
  • This visit established collaboration with her mentor, Prof. Jasmina Nikodinović Runić, an expert in microbial biotechnology and catalysis. Additionally, a collaboration was initiated on the degradation of the second most abundant bioplastic, polyhydroxyalkanoates.

• 1st February 2024 – 29th February 2024

  PhD student Hanfeng Cai from the Department of Biotechnology and Food Engineering, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel, visited the group.

  • Research topic: "Redesign of the catalytic pocket of lactate dehydrogenase to alter the cofactor specificity to 1,6-NADH."
  • This collaboration was initiated with Prof. Ayelet Fishman, head of the Laboratory of Molecular and Applied Biocatalysis, Technion, Israel, and Hanfeng Cai’s mentor. This research is highly relevant to the project as it aims to characterize lactate dehydrogenase, a key enzyme for designing assays to quantify polylactic acid degradation activity, contributing to objective 3: Measuring the thermostability and degradation activity of designed enzymes towards PLA, and Measuring the degradation activity of designed enzymes towards PLA.

• 18th September 2023 – 2nd October 2023

  PhD student Margaux Aubel from the Molecular Evolution and Bioinformatics Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity, University of Münster, Germany, visited the group.

  • Research topic: "Investigation of dynamics of metagenomic esterase to improve its polylactic acid degrading activity."
  • During this visit, the characterization of the relationship between the structure and dynamics of esterases with PLA-degrading activity was initiated, as well as the evolutionary relationships of the studied esterases. Collaboration with Prof. Erich Bornberg-Bauer, group leader and Margaux Aubel’s mentor, continued. This collaboration contributes to the following objectives: Using computational approaches to optimize the thermostability and activity of enzymes degrading PLA, and Understanding structure-function relationships using MD simulations.

Published Paper (13.11.2024.)

The scientific paper titled "New model compounds for the efficient colorimetric screening of medium chain length polyhydroxyalkanoate (mcl-PHA) depolymerases reveal mechanism of activity" has been published in the International Journal of Biological Macromolecules (Q1, IF 7,7).

Published Paper (26.7.2024.)

The scientific methodology paper "MDavocado: Analysis and Visualization of Protein Motion by Time-Dependent Angular Diagrams", has been published in the Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling (Q1, IF 5,6).

Participation in Conferences

Innovations in Chemical Sciences (19.-21.11.2024.)

At the Innovations in Chemical Sciences conference, held at the Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Lucija Brtan participated with a poster titled "Ancestral Variants of the MGY Enzyme Showed Significantly Improved Solubility and Expression Yields." At the same conference, Aleksandra Maršavelski gave an invited lecture titled "Ancestral Sequence Reconstruction as a Tool to Enhance Solubility and Yield of Polyester-Degrading Enzymes."

Solutions in Chemistry (11.-15.11.2024.)

Aleksandra Maršavelski gave an invited lecture titled "Harnessing Ancestral Sequences to Improve the Solubility of Plastic-Degrading Enzymes" at the Solutions in Chemistry 2024 conference, held in Sveti Martin na Muri from 11th to 15th November 2024.

At the same conference, student Nikolina Juričan and Aleksandra Maršavelski presented a poster titled "Thermal and Structural Characterization of Selected Biopolymers After Irradiation."

Summer Conference Rijeka-Pula (4.-6.9.2024.)

Aleksandra Maršavelski gave an invited lecture titled "Designing Ancestral Enzymes to Understan and Enhance Plastic Degrading Activity" at the Summer Conference of Croatian Chemical Society held in Rijeka, and Pula from 4th to 6th September 2024.

ECM34 (25.-30.8.2024.)

Ivana Kekez participated in the 34th European Crystallographic Meeting ECM34, held in Padua, Italy, from 25th to 30th August 2024. with a poster presentation titled "Mgy a novel metagenomic esterase as an excellent target for enviroment friendly degradation of polylactic acid".

COST Association (13.-14.5.2024.)

Aleksandra Maršavelski attended the symposium COST Connect on Bio-Based Resources, Materials and Solutions, held in Brussels, Belgium, from 13th to 14th May 2024.

Conference Organization

Funding Approved for FEBS Advanced Course 2025

From 29th September to 3rd October 2025, the third edition of the FEBS Advanced Course "Computational Approaches to Understanding and Engineering Enzyme Catalysis" will be held in Stockholm, Sweden.

We are proud to announce that this year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry laureate, Professor David Baker, will once again be among the lecturers.

COZYME (24.-26.4.2024.)

Aleksandra Maršavelski participated in the COST Action annual meeting of COST action CA21162 - Establishing a Pan-European Network on Computational Redesign of Enzymes (COZYME), held in Zagreb. She presented a poster titled "Model compounds for the discovery of novel PHA depolymerases – a computational study".

FEBS advanced course (25.-29.9.2023.)

Aleksandra Maršavelski was the chair of the organizing committee for the FEBS Advanced Course "Computational Approaches to Understanding and Engineering Enzyme Catalysis", held from 25th to 29th September 2023, in Zagreb. This scientific event brought together renowned scientists, researchers, and students from around the world to present innovations and the latest methods in approaches to understanding and engineering enzyme catalysis. The insights and connections made during this event were crucial for applying cutting-edge computational methods to achieve the project’s goals. All project team members attended the lectures. The book of abstracts is available here.

MASTER'S THESIS

Davor Mendeš "Computational and experimental characterization of esterase from Rhodopseudomons palustris for the degradation of polylactic acid". Thesis defended on 23rd February 2024.

Eva Josić "Application of metagenomic esterases for environmentally friendly degradation of polylactic acid". Thesis defended on 21st February 2024.

BACHELOR'S THESIS

Antonio Močinić "Approaches for Protein Functionalization and Expansion of Enzymatic Catalysis" (2024)

Antun Zelić "Polylactic Acid and Polyhydroxyalkanoates as Alternatives to Fossil-Based Plastics" (2023)

Dominik Skoko "De Novo Enzyme Design Using Computational Methods" (2023)

Mario Oraić "Hydrophobins and Their Biotechnological Applications" (2023)

Adrian Bukovec "Enzymes for Synthetic Polyester Degradation" (2023)

Lecture Ljubičasto u kemiji (Purple in Chemistry) (8.5.2024.)

Aleksandra Maršavelski gave a lecture titled "Enzymes in the Fight Against Plastic" at the invitation of the Croatian Chemical Society. The lecture was held at the Faculty of Science (PMF), University of Zagreb, as part of the lecture series "Purple in Chemistry."

Lecture POU Samobor (23.4.2024.)

At the invitation of the Public Open University in Samobor, Aleksandra Maršavelski gave a lecture titled "Plastic, its Impact on the Environment, and Approaches in the Fight Against Plastic." The lecture is available for viewing through the provided link.

Lecture Science in Vivo (30.11.2023.)

Aleksandra Maršavelski gave a lecture titled "Microplastics: Impact on Ecosystems and Possible Solutions" at the Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, as part of the Science In Vivo lecture series.

Studio 4 HRT (16.03.2024.)

Aleksandra Maršavelski appeared live on the show Studio 4 on HRT television, where she discussed ways to solve the problem of plastic pollution in the environment and introduced the public to the project "Enzyme Engineering for Sustainable Recycling of Bioplastics."

Prometej HRT (11.1.2024.)

Aleksandra Maršavelski recorded a segment for the TV show Prometej on the second channel of Croatian Radiotelevision (HRT), discussing enzymes and their optimization for the efficient degradation of plastics. The segment was filmed on November 30, 2023, at the Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb.