The consortium of EUPHORIA project consists of 1 company (YIOTIS S.A.) and 2 research organizations (NKUA-BIOL, ICB-NHRF).
YIOTIS S.A.
The company YIOTIS S.A. was founded in 1930 and is a Greek, family business with a workforce of 377 people, which is divided into 4 departments. It has experienced scientists and specialized equipment that can guarantee the administrative and technical support of any research and investment project. The company's activity is constantly expanding with the production of new innovative products, with baby food as its flagship. Additionally, its activity includes bakery mixes, confectionery, drinks, and desserts. In 2017, YIOTIS S.A. founded the Hellenic Research and Innovation Center with branches in Athens and Agrinio, which offers high food safety and quality through laboratory analyzes in the food industry. The laboratories also carry out organoleptic checks on the products. The company has already participated in over 40 National and European research projects.
Enzyme and Microbial Biotechnology Group of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (Department of Biology)
The Group of Enzyme and Microbial Biotechnology belongs to the Botanical Field of the Biology Department of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. The Botanical Field was founded in 1991 (Official Gazette number 991/Volume B'/03.12.1991, Ministerial Decision, B1/159a). The Enzyme and Microbial Biotechnology Group applies combinations of classical microbiological techniques with modern molecular approaches of Metabolic Engineering and Synthetic Biology for a) the isolation and identification of microbial strains from environmental samples, b) the study of the biosynthesis and physicochemical characteristics of enzymes and metabolic products of biotechnological interest by microorganisms, c) the development of enzyme and microbial systems for the production of biofuels and chemical intermediates from lignocellulosic biomass (2nd generation biorefinery) and d) the study of the biodegradation of xenobiotic compounds and pollutants.
Institute of Chemical Biology – National Hellenic Research Foundation (ICB-NHRF)
The Enzyme & Synthetic Biotechnology Laboratory of ICB-NHRF (ESB) is an interdisciplinary laboratory, with research activities that combine elements of biology, chemistry, and engineering. The main objective of the ESB is the development of modified microbial cells with the ability to perform new and complex functions using principles of Synthetic Biology. ESB applies genetic engineering techniques to redesign and rearrange the genome of the target organism, alongside with engineering of synthetic biology and proteomics approaches to introduce new functions into the cell. A key work aspect is the design and development of high-throughput screening systems used to isolate rare biomolecules and microbial strains that perform the desired function among large combinatorial libraries comprising hundreds of millions of variants.