DD-Decaf: Data-Driven Design of Cell Factories and Communities

With ultra-precise genome editing tools at our disposal, we will see a transformation of the life sciences. We will shift away from experiments manipulating one factor at a time towards simultaneous changes at multiple loci. The success of those increasingly complex experiments will crucially depend on our ability to accurately predict system’s level behavior and will often require non-intuitive designs.

In principle, integrating omics data with systems biology models provides the means for optimizing knowledge gain through rational target selection and experimental design. This combination of methods is not leveraged effectively, however, due to a lack of readily available tools that allow us to rapidly access and analyze public and private data.

With this project, we aim to make a broad spectrum of omics data useful for biotechnology and life science research by integrating systems biology with design in a one-stop source.

A group of five renowned academic partners (DTU, Chalmers, EMBL, EPFL and UMinho) is driving research on integrative model-based omics data analysis to enable:

1. Metagenomics-enabled design of novel enzymes and biochemical pathways.
2. Omics data-driven design of cell factories for the production of chemicals and proteins.
3. Analysis and design of microbial communities relevant to human health, industrial biotechnology and agriculture.

All research efforts are integrated in an interactive, web-based platform available at http://dd-decaf.eu.