Sweet Crosstalk is a multidisciplinary European Training Network built to address the challenge of understanding, at a molecular level, how glycans are involved at the human mucosa–microbiota interface, and how this correlates with human well-being. Research into the human microbiome has reshaped the paradigm of our health and disease. In order to advance further, the time has arrived to understand it at a molecular level. Glycans dominate the microbiota-host interface and are thus ideally positioned to modulate these complex interactions. The research strategy of the Sweet Crosstalk programme focuses on optimal synergy between chemistry and biology. Smart chemistry drives the research to get a molecular-level grip on the role of these glycocodes and their interacting proteins, and advances in biology directs the research. The high quality and credibility of our consortium is ensured by a strong private-public partnership with complementary expertise ranging from chemical synthesis, biochemistry, structural biology to microbiology and cell biology. Our 7 academic groups are all renowned leaders in the glycoscience and microbiome fields, whereas the complementary 4 SMEs are specialized in glycan-based diagnostics and prophylactic therapies. This unique combination of scientific excellence and industry know-how covers the entire process from obtaining fundamental insight to the development of innovative early diagnostics and glycotherapeutics. Sweet Crosstalk also represents a unique research platform to train 15 outstanding Early Stage Researchers to be the new generation of innovative scientists with expert knowledge and skills in interdisciplinary glycoscience and human microbiome research. Our international, intersectoral and interdisciplinary training programme will equip them with the necessary scientific and transferable skills that will make them highly competitive for both top European research institutions and the healthcare/biotech job market.

This project aims to develop new processes and solve bottlenecks in the fermentative production of biosurfactants and specialty carbohydrates. Specifically, the project targets the development of innovative fermentation processes to produce the following compounds: 1. Glycolipid biosurfactants. The project targets four distinct classes of biosurfactants, specifically rhamnolipids, sophorolipids, xylolipids and mannosylerythritol-lipids with a wide range of application fields. 2. Specialty carbohydrates. Specifically, the project targets sialylated oligosaccharides, a class of very complex Human Milk Oligosaccharides that find application as a neutraceutical, pharmaceutical and cosmetic ingredient. For both product lines, microbial producer strains will be developed through metabolic engineering. The fermentation process and down-stream processing will be developed and optimized in order to obtain an industrial process. Second generation technology based on lignocellulosic substrates will also be developed. Sufficient amounts of the new products will be produced for application testing, in order to evaluate their market potential in a wide range of application fields. The technical, economic, environmental and social sustainability of the process over the whole value chain from biomass to product application will also be assessed, with an emphasis on identifying and addressing the bottlenecks in the innovation chain. A valorisation plan will be drafted to complete the innovation process. The project consortium has all the required players to obtain the expected impact: RTO's to address the research challenges in this project, an open innovation pilot plant to optimize and scale up the new processes, three biotech SMEs and three large industries to ensure the exploitation of the project results. In addition, two user groups (one for each product line) consisting of end-user companies are involved in the project.