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The Altar team from Lesaffre specializes in the design and operation of automated fluidic continuous culture systems for the development of microbial strains of industrial interest through Adaptive Laboratory Evolution (ALE).
BACKGROUND
In 2024, Lesaffre, a key global player in fermentation for more than 170 years, acquired Altar, a biotechnology company specializing in the field of microbial fluidics established in 2017.
The team was integrated into the Lesaffre Institute of Science & Technology (LIST).
Lesaffre operates this platform for the directed evolution of microorganisms at Genopole, as part of R&D projects, collaborative projects, or proprietary projects aiming to develop microorganisms of industrial interest for various applications.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRODUCTS / SERVICES / TECHNOLOGY
The Altar team designs, develops and operates fluidic automated devices for the continuous culture of microbial suspensions.
This technology is mainly used in adaptive evolution experiments aimed at improving the performance of microorganisms through natural selection. It enables the permanent, uninterrupted, 24/7 cultivation of microbial suspensions under algorithmically controlled conditions.
Thanks to its ability to maintain controlled selection pressure during experiments lasting up to several months, this technology has become a gold-standard in the field of adaptive evolution, enabling the phenotypic improvements sought by fermentation companies to be achieved more rapidly and efficiently. Altar’s technology and know-how contribute to the improvement of microbial strains as part of proprietary projects, collaborative projects or R&D services.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS / COLLABORATIONS / HIGHLIGHTS
Before being acquired by Lesaffre, Altar has been self-financed mainly through the sale of R&D services to industrial companies in various sectors. It has also benefited from European grants as part of the eForFuel , SinFonia, MIBIREM and NEXT-STEP projects, in collaboration with public and private partners.
Altar was the winner of the March 2020 Green Deal Call for Projects under the European Commission’s EIC Accelerator Pilot program.
Altar was successively acquired by Ginkgo Bioworks in 2022 and by Lesaffre International in 2024.
COLLABORATIONS SOUGHT
Lesaffre is open to collaborating with academic and industrial partners interested in accessing its ALE platform
Number of employees: 11 employees
STRENGTHS
Technical and scientific leadership in the field of Adaptive Laboratory Evolution.
A team fully integrated within the Lesaffre Institute of Science and Technology.
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