Genetius

The study demonstrates the first scalable production of a 30 kDa prolyl‑hydroxylated human collagen fragment in the moss Physcomitrella, achieving ~1 mg L⁻¹ secretion in 5 L photobioreactors after process optimization. This vegan, plant‑based system provides a sustainable, high‑quality alternative to animal‑derived collagens for cosmetic applications, highlighting the suitability of moss as an industrial protein‑production host.

The study demonstrates that the conserved Target of Rapamycin (TOR) kinase positively regulates growth, development, chloroplast function, protein synthesis, and cell cycle progression in the moss Physcomitrella patens. Inhibiting TOR with rapamycin or AZD8055, or down‑regulating TOR complex components, impairs protonema growth and leads to chlorosis and reduced photosynthesis, while FKBP12 overexpression sensitizes the moss to rapamycin. The authors also identify and characterize TORC1 components (PpTOR, PpLST8, PpRAPTOR) and show TOR‑dependent phosphorylation of ribosomal protein RPS6.