Wageningen researchers awarded NWO grants for studies on cultivated meat and climate-resilient crops

Due to global warming, crops are less able to perform at their best. Mark Sterken (Laboratory of Nematology) therefore wants to investigate the molecular processes and plant traits that determine the temperatures at which plants function best. He will carry out the research together with Martijn van Zanten from Utrecht University.

To identify the underlying molecular mechanisms, the researchers will study a plant that has adapted remarkably well to extreme temperatures: the snowdrop. They will also use varieties of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, originating from extreme habitats, such as subtropical regions and areas near the Arctic Circle. 

“If we understand how these plants cope with extreme temperatures, we can use that knowledge to make crops more resilient to climate change,” the researchers explain. Ultimately, they hope to help safeguard future crop yields.

Sterken is eager to start the project. "I'm very excited to combine my expertise on natural genetic variation - in particular with RNAseq - with Martijns expertise on thermotolerance and develop Snowdrop as a model species."

As global demand for meat continues to rise, alternatives to conventional livestock farming are urgently needed. Cultivated meat, produced from animal stem cells in the laboratory, provide a promising option. However, large-scale production still faces significant challenges. For instance, the cultivation process remains inefficient, making the process expensive. 

Maria Suarez Diez (Laboratory of Systems and Synthetic Biology) will therefore investigate exactly how pig cells grow and develop during cultivated meat production. Together with colleagues, she will use computational biology and advanced computer models to map the processes that influence cell growth. By gaining a better understanding of where growth processes slow down or become inefficient, the researchers hope to find ways to stimulate growth. These insights could help make cultivated meat production more efficient and cost-effective. 

Suarez Diez is enthusiastic about the grant and the opportunity to launch the project. “This is a great opportunity to collaborate with João Marques Garcia, assistant professor at Bioprocess Engineering, who is conducting very interesting research in cultivated meat.” Together, they will supervise a newly appointed PhD candidate. “The team is great, and we will be able to achieve great things,” Suarez Diez adds.

The NWO Open Competition ENW-M programme supports curiosity-driven fundamental research in the exact and natural sciences. It gives researchers the opportunity to pursue ambitious and innovative ideas, even when the outcome is uncertain.
For this funding round, NWO assessed 75 applications. The board of the Domain Science (ENW) division awarded funding to 16 projects. Other funded studies include research into brain folding, the detection of neutrinos and cosmic rays, and understanding how viruses can kill dormant bacteria.