{"id":33724,"date":"2026-03-23T10:14:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T14:14:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/genomequebec.com\/?post_type=financed-project&#038;p=33724"},"modified":"2026-03-24T10:46:58","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T14:46:58","slug":"spectralens-intelligent-screening-for-high-throughput-biotransformation-in-engineered-biofactories","status":"publish","type":"financed-project","link":"https:\/\/genomequebec.com\/en\/funded-projects\/spectralens-intelligent-screening-for-high-throughput-biotransformation-in-engineered-biofactories\/","title":{"rendered":"SpectraLens: Intelligent Screening for High-Throughput Biotransformation in Engineered Biofactories"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>User: <\/strong>Aplantex<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The global plant-based bioactive compounds market, particularly for flavonoids ($1.2B, 11% CAGR), is expanding rapidly, driven by demand for sustainable ingredients in pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, and cosmetics. Canada\u2019s reliance on imported active ingredients (60% from Asia) underscores the need for local biomanufacturing. Aplantex, a Quebec-based green biotechnology company, leverages duckweed\u2019s rapid growth and sustainability to produce high-value phytochemicals but faces bottlenecks in low transformation efficiency (~1%) and lengthy clone selection (10 months).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This project, a collaboration between Aplantex and Universit\u00e9 Laval, develops a high-throughput, genomics-based platform integrating CRISPR\/Cas9 transformation, multi-omics (genomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics), hyperspectral imaging, and AI-driven trait prediction to enhance duckweed clone selection. Key objectives include: (1) achieving =5% transformation efficiency, (2) generating comprehensive omics and imaging datasets, and (3) building AI models for non-destructive trait detection with high accuracy. This reduces selection time from 10 to 2 months, significantly increasing throughput and addressing the critical efficiency bottleneck. The commercialization pathway involves deploying the platform in Aplantex\u2019s Montreal R&amp;D pipeline, supported by a 10\u201315 person team and venture capital funding. An upcoming industrial demonstrator will scale production, enabling Aplantex to meet client demands for high-value clones and expand its pipeline. Intellectual property is secured through exclusive rights for Aplantex\u2019s strain protocols and non-exclusive licensing for general tools, with no IP conflicts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Benefits to Canada include reduced import reliance, enhancing supply chain security, and job creation in the biotech sector. Duckweed\u2019s low resource use (90% less land\/water) supports sustainability, aligning with Canada\u2019s Biomanufacturing Strategy. The project trains highly qualified personnel and shares open-access datasets, advancing Canada\u2019s research ecosystem. Aplantex gains a competitive edge in the bioactive market, driving economic growth and positioning Canada as a leader in green biotechnology.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-33724","financed-project","type-financed-project","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/genomequebec.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/financed-project\/33724","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/genomequebec.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/financed-project"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/genomequebec.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/financed-project"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/genomequebec.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33724"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}