10072768Machine-learning generated nucleases for accelerating the deployment of a novel, low-emission food production systemsClosedGrant for R&DInnovate UK**Eden Bio's proposed tool will support sustainable protein production by leveraging state-of-the-art machine learning technology, 1) enabling food businesses to scale up their activities and 2) accelerating Net Zero initiatives.** Precision fermentation (PF) is a sustainable protein production method that doesn't use animals. PF has tremendous potential and is a focus of significant investments. This method creates functional ingredients by creating "cell factories" in microbes. Enzymes, flavouring agents, proteins, vitamins, natural pigments, and fats can be produced through PF, and the market is growing rapidly (predicted to reach $37.35B by 2030). One of the key drivers of this growth is the unmet global demand for sustainable protein production. A growing number of companies produce proteins (e.g., food-tech startups) that rely on PF, however, they all struggle to produce their products at an industrial scale. This not only presents huge barriers for these companies to reaching revenue generation but also slows down their economic sector's modernisation and transition towards sustainability. PF involves the production of proteins by genetically modifying microorganisms, thus, it is heavily reliant on genome editing tools and nucleases, a type of protein that cuts the genome in a specific place to allow an edit to take place. Currently available nuclease datasets are limited to either very specific, narrowly applicable types or have limited entries, while the use of commercially available nucleases is prohibitively expensive. To continue offering best-in-class strain optimisation services, EB proposes to develop a repository of fully annotated nucleases and an ML tool for generating non-IP infringing nucleases that will be customisable for the clients' specific needs. This tool will add significant value to EB's services and will allow for the acceleration of PF company's scaling and transition to sustainable food production systems.