Professor Eugene Fletcher, from Carleton University in Canada, was welcomed to the Graduate Program in Agricultural Microbiology for his first visit to Brazil. Eugene conducts research into yeasts and, since the beginning of 2024, has been working in partnership with Professor Wendel Silveira, coordinator of the Microorganism Physiology Laboratory and the PPGMBA. The visit to Brazil formalizes the joint work of the two teams, with funding from Canada’s Faculty Mobility for Partnership Building Program, aimed at the academic activities of Canadian professors in Latin America and the Caribbean.

“I met Wendel when we did a post-doc in the same lab in Sweden. Since then we’ve been interested in working together. Recently, when the opportunity arose to apply for the faculty mobility program, I thought it was the perfect time to put this idea into practice. Our countries are both very interested in converting agricultural and dairy waste into valuable chemicals,” says Eugene. In Canada, the professor heads a research group specializing in yeast engineering for the production of items that can be used as biofuels and preservatives in animal feed. “Although we have common research interests, each of our groups brings a unique experience. Both Professor Wendel and I focus on fermentation using yeast – the microorganism used to make beer and bread – but his group works with different types of yeast. In addition, his group has a lot of experience in developing bioinformatics tools to discover new yeast genes.”

Eugene’s hope is that the combination of interests and knowledge can help solve difficult scientific problems that have piqued the interest of scientists in Canada. “We are working, for example, on the development of yeast strains that can convert dairy waste and by-products into ethanol, into organic acids for the manufacture of bioplastics and into lipids. The Brazilian laboratory is using the bioinformatics platform to examine hundreds of yeast DNA sequences to find new genes that make yeast able to consume lactose, the main sugar found in milk by-products. My lab at Carleton University will test these genes and select the most effective one to make the yeast consume lactose more efficiently,” he explains.

During his three weeks in Brazil, Eugene gave the students a special course – “Yeast Biotechnology: Engineering yeast cell factories” -, presented a seminar to the entire academic community, and took part in several working meetings with Professor Wendel’s team and other potential partners. “It was a very productive experience. I was very pleased with the students’ engagement and response during the course and in the many other exchange opportunities we had. I want to open discussions about the possibilities of collaborating with other groups in Viçosa, with the expectation of expanding our activities here.”

Eugene’s project is expected to last two years, until 2026. In the coming months, back in Canada, the professor intends to continue working with the Brazilian team, with the expectation of promoting student exchanges between the two countries and secure new funding. “I hope that this visit will result in new collaborations and publications that will attract attention and help us secure more funding, benefiting research at both universities.”