Entovia LLC

News 3

2010-07-20T15:01:00Z

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. In at lorem lorem. Integer molestie leo ac massa venenatis at rhoncus nulla congue. Phasellus id lobortis est. Vestibulum in eros lorem. Suspendisse tempus porttitor dolor in volutpat. Proin odio risus, suscipit eget volutpat et, vulputate at urna. Suspendisse quis magna est, sit amet sollicitudin sapien. Quisque sodales, ante ac blandit sagittis, quam quam aliquam mi, ut accumsan augue odio in enim. Nunc aliquet metus non purus gravida quis consequat felis lacinia. Praesent vulputate condimentum nibh eget adipiscing. Nulla sed urna sem. Cras sed justo risus, non placerat ipsum. Mauris tempus, sapien quis laoreet gravida, dui quam facilisis tortor, eget tempus felis tortor non dolor. Phasellus in arcu sapien, ut malesuada elit. Nam luctus egestas dui, sit amet eleifend risus vestibulum ac. Donec tempor nisi a arcu vulputate interdum. Sed iaculis leo eu enim placerat viverra.

News 2

2010-06-13T15:02:00Z

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. In at lorem lorem. Integer molestie leo ac massa venenatis at rhoncus nulla congue. Phasellus id lobortis est. Vestibulum in eros lorem. Suspendisse tempus porttitor dolor in volutpat. Proin odio risus, suscipit eget volutpat et, vulputate at urna. Suspendisse quis magna est, sit amet sollicitudin sapien. Quisque sodales, ante ac blandit sagittis, quam quam aliquam mi, ut accumsan augue odio in enim. Nunc aliquet metus non purus gravida quis consequat felis lacinia. Praesent vulputate condimentum nibh eget adipiscing. Nulla sed urna sem. Cras sed justo risus, non placerat ipsum. Mauris tempus, sapien quis laoreet gravida, dui quam facilisis tortor, eget tempus felis tortor non dolor. Phasellus in arcu sapien, ut malesuada elit. Nam luctus egestas dui, sit amet eleifend risus vestibulum ac. Donec tempor nisi a arcu vulputate interdum. Sed iaculis leo eu enim placerat viverra.

In the media

Marc — 2010-02-15T10:26:13Z

August 26, 2009

Breakthrough technology harnesses microorganism for use as green bio-pesticide

2009-08-26T13:45:00Z

Gainesville, Florida. Aug. 26, 2009. Today, the open access journal BMC Biotechnology published a collaborative study between EVOLUGATE, LLC and scientists at the UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA that discloses the first use of a new technology to experimentally evolve industrially important filamentous fungi, which are among the most widely used microorganisms for industrial applications. In this case, the goal was to evolve improved "green" bio-pesticides.

The publication of this report coincides with the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin, who discovered the process of evolution by natural selection. The Evolugate technology exploits the power of Darwinian evolution to select for strains that reproduce faster than their competitors in continuous culture.

While the concept behind the technology is not new, its innovative solutions to intractable problems associated with continuous culture make it a breakthrough in experimental evolution. Previously developed methods of continuous culture are either manually intensive, carry with them a high risk of contamination or invariably select for traits that allow microbes to evade selective pressures rather than adapt to them. This new technology is fully automated and allows experimental evolution to be run indefinitely with little risk of contamination and no risk of incidental selection for undesirable traits.

EVOLUGATE will promote and market the use of its technology for the production of novel bioinsecticides under the name ENTOVIA, a newly created division exclusively dedicated to that purpose.

Microorganisms are essential players in a variety of other industries. Evolugate technology can be used to rapidly produce the best adapted and most efficient strains for virtually any application, including for the conversion of biomass to biofuels, bioremediation, biosynthesis of fermentation products to compounds like antibiotics. EVOLUGATE aims to become a major player in these exciting fields as well.

"From environmental protection to human medicine, the power of evolution is needed to create solutions to the problems facing us," says Steven Benner, who directs the Gainesville-based research Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution. "The Evolugate methodology harnesses this power in ways previously unavailable, and their work published today proves this for a problem of considerable importance."

Request complete press release, click here

Legend : Migratory Grasshopper adult killed by Metarhizium fungus, which emerges from the dead insect's body as green spores. Photograph courtesy of USDA Agricultural Research Service.

Publications

2009-06-26T17:00:00Z

August 26, 2009 an article has been published on line for publication in BMC Biotechnology prior to the printed publication Click here.

Directed evolution of a filamentous fungus for thermotolerance

Eudes de Crecy, Stefan Jaronski, Benjamin Lyons, Thomas J. Lyons, and Nemat O. Keyhani

Background : Filamentous fungi represent the most widely used eukaryotic biocatalysts in industrial and chemical applications. Consequently, there is tremendous interest in methodology that can use the power of genetics to develop strains with improved performance. For example, Metarhizium anisopliae is a broad-host-range entomopathogenic fungus currently under intensive investigation as a biologically-based alternative to chemical pesticides. However, it use is limited by the relatively low tolerance of this species to abiotic stresses such as heat, with most strains displaying little to no growth between 35-37°C. In this study, we used a newly-developed automated continuous culture method called the Evolugator™, which takes advantage of a natural selection-adaptation strategy, to select for thermotolerant variants of M. anisopliae strain 2575 displaying robust growth at 37°C.

Results : Over a 4 month time course, 22 cycles of growth and dilution were used to select 2 thermotolerant variants of M. anisopliae. Both variants displayed robust growth at 35.5°C, whereas only one was able to grow at 37°C. Insect bioassays using Melanoplus sanguinipes (grasshoppers) were also performed to determine if thermotolerant variants of M. anisopliae retained entomopathogenicity. Assays confirmed that thermotolerant variants were, indeed, entomopathogenic, albeit with complex alterations in virulence parameters such as lethal dose responses (LD50) and median survival times (ST50).

Conclusion : We report the experimental evolution of a filamentous fungus via the novel application of a powerful new continuous culture device. This is the first example of using continuous culture to select for complex phenotypes such as thermotolerance. Temperature adapted variants of the insect-pathogenic, filamentous fungus M. anisopliae were isolated and demonstrated to show vigorous growth at a temperature that is inhibitory for the parent strain. Insect virulence assays confirmed that pathogenicity can be retained during the selection process. In principle, this technology can be used to adapt filamentous fungi to virtually any environmental condition including abiotic stress and growth substrate utilization.

Legend : Migratory Grasshopper adult killed by Metarhizium fungus, which emerges from the dead insect's body as green spores. Photograph courtesy of USDA Agricultural Research Service.

Applications

2009-06-13T08:43:00Z

The use of this continuous culture technology is particularly appropriate in conditions in which a selective pressure can be applied on the growth of the microorganism. Within these conditions, our technology will enable the selection of the best possible variant. Examples include :

Increasing the efficiency of degradation of a specific compound that can be used as a nutrient source e.g. chitin. which makes up the exoskeleton of insects.
Adapting a strain to a particular environmental condition that might be found in nature e.g. elevated temperature, high soil acidity or UV radiation.
Evolving strains that are more resistant to the defensive responses of the targeted insect.

Mission

2009-06-11T13:23:21Z

Entovia is the EVOLUGATE Division dedicated to the research and development of green bio-pesticides using proprietary technology that allows us to continuously culture and experimentally evolve entomopathogenic microorganisms to become more efficient at killing specifically targeted pests. This technology unlocks the power of natural selection to create a more robust class of bio-pesticides free from the problems associated with genetically modified organisms and chemicals.

We do not genetically modify microorganisms. Instead, our technology relies on a holistic approach that exploits the power of Darwinian evolution and natural selection for tuning and optimizing the phenotype of any cell to provide it with superior commercial relevance. It relies on continuously culturing and experimentally evolving entomopathogenic microorganisms to become more efficient at killing specifically targeted pests.

Entovia is developing a catalogue of biological pest control agents for industry that are biotope-friendly and can be used against many insect targets under multiple environmental conditions.

Entovia will pursue its promotion to industry players to achieve technology transfers in the shape of strategic industrial partnership.

Contact

2009-06-11T08:44:13Z

For inquiry about :

Business development & Licensing : bizdev@evolugate.com

Media : media@evolugate.com

Other purposes : info@evolugate.com

To contact us by mail :

Entovia LLC

2153 SE Hawthorne Rd, #15

Gainesville, FL 32641

USA

Vision

2009-06-08T08:37:00Z

Many pest control strategies in use today employ a "scorched earth" approach—that is to say that they use chemicals that are generally lethal to kill as many insects as possible. Unfortunately, many of these chemicals remain in the environment where they can be toxic to beneficial insects, fish, amphibians, birds, mammals and even humans. The pest-control industry is in desperate need of insecticides that are more specific to targeted pests and less deleterious for the environment.

Entovia is committed to the advancement of ethical and sustainable biological insect pest control products for the Agricultural and Industrial Pest Control as well as the Retail Home and Garden market sector. Entovia's “green” biocontrol agents are tailored to target specific pests under precisely defined environmental conditions, thus minimizing collateral damage to the habitats in which they are deployed and the life that needs these habitats to survive.

The use of Entovia's technology and products will open up new avenues for working with nature and will dramatically reduce the use of toxic pesticides in the field of agriculture, forestry and household products.

Newsroom

2008-08-20T17:00:00Z

hello