MetaGenoPolis - INRAE

MetaGenoPolis (MGP) is an INRAE centre expert in gut microbiome research applied to human and animal health and nutrition, funded by the Programme des Investissements d'Avenir (Laureate 2012 and 2019). MGP's expertise in the analysis of the gut microbiome and its implications for health and nutrition has been widely recognized in the international scientific community since 2010.

In collaboration with industry, academia and clinics, MGP conceives and implements projects tailored to the partner’s need. ISO 9001 certified, the protocols and procedures are constantly maintained at the cutting edge of technology. To explore the link between the microbiome, nutrition and health, MGP has innovative technological platforms accompanied by an ethical center UCLy (Catholic University of Lyon).

MGP offers end-to-end microbiome analysis services, including DNA extraction, library preparation, shotgun sequencing, quantitative and functional metagenomics, big data storage and computing facilities, bioinformatics, statistical analysis, and data interpretation.

One of MGP's ambitions is to create, via a citizen science project, a public database of the gut microbiomes of 100,000 French individuals, one of the objectives of which will be to better understand the heterogeneity of the gut microbiome of healthy French people. MGP also aims to develop more industrial partnerships and the creation of start-ups to accelerate microbiome science and innovation in health and nutrition.

http://mgps.eu/

Directors :

Alexandre Cavezza - alexandre.cavezza@inrae.fr

Florence Haimet - florence.haimet@inrae.fr

The mission of Toulouse White Biotechnology (TWB) is to contribute to the development of a bio-economy based on the use of renewable carbon as a raw material to fuel industry in the future while respecting existing food and feed chains. To this end, TWB has a two-pronged approach:

• facilitate the public research/industry interface in the field of white biotechnology; and
• promote the development of new approaches in sustainable production by using innovative biological tools (enzymes, micro-organisms) and competitive processes.

The target areas of application are the production of intermediate products for the chemicals industry, biomaterials, biopolymers and biofuels.TWB covers a wide range of research and industrial development activities, from biological engineering (enzymatic and metabolic engineering, synthetic biology) to the development of processes on the pre-industrial pilot scale.TWB carries out its projects with creativity using ethical approaches and applying the principles of sustainable development. TWB leverages synergies with the Processes and Biological Systems Engineering Laboratories (LISBP) at the Toulouse INSA (INRA joint research unit 792, CNRS joint research unit 5504). There are also active collaborations with other public laboratories, such as that with the Genopole biocluster in Evry.Different types of collaborative projects in research and development are offered:

• so-called 'pre-competitive' projects are conducted ahead of applied research and generate industrial property (IP) for the public domain.
• so-called 'competitive' projects are funded by TWB partners or third parties into more applied research themes that lead to opportunities in the short or medium term, for which the IP generated remains the property of the manufacturer.

Technical platforms featuring high-tech equipment are made available to researchers and technical staff as part of the research projects. Services are also provided via these platforms. TWB, which was selected for the Investments in the Future programme in March 2011, is backed by a joint service unit overseen by the trio of INRA, INSA and CNRS (INRA joint service unit 1337; CNRS joint service unit 3582). Certified by the Carnot 3BCAR Institute, the joint service unit is managed by INRA, which coordinates the operations of the entity's executive bureau through its subsidiary INRA Transfert. The executive bureau is responsible for the day-to-day operation of TWB under the authority of the Consortium's Strategic Advisory Committee.This public-private consortium brings together some 30 public and private partners who share common socio-economic goals and work together to steer and accelerate TWB projects.

Contact information :
Coordinator : Pierre Monsan - pierre.monsan@insa-toulouse.fr
Project manager : Olivier Galy - ogaly@insa-toulouse.fr
Business Management : Michel Manach - mmanach@insa-toulouse.fr
www.toulouse-white-biotechnology.com