BRYOMOLECULES 1st Annual Meeting
Highlights from the first 12 months and road ahead
The BRYOMOLECULES project marked its first year of activity with the 1st Annual Meeting. On 15 – 17 September 2025 the consortium met in Montélimar (France) to assess the project progress, celebrate achievements, and chart the way forward in unlocking the hidden potential of European bryophytes.
Day 1: Setting the stage
The meeting was opened with a welcome speech from the project coordinator, Claudio Varotto (FEM), who gave an overview of the first 12 months of BRYOMOLECULES, presenting the main facts, milestones achieved and activities carried out. This recap was complemented by the report on dissemination and communication activities presented by ESF, outlining the outreach initiatives and collaborations established with other projects during the first year of BRYOMOLECULES. To wrap up the initial phase of the annual meeting, an open discussion was held between the partners, to reflect on the past 12 months of project activities and prepare the ground for the progress reports.
Day 2: Scientific advances
Work progress across the five technical work packages was presented by relevant partners, marking the first significant steps towards the first large-scale, systematic bioprospecting of European bryophyte species:
- LU presented preliminary results on the establishment and optimization of axenic cultures for a selection of bryophytes (mosses and liverworts), identified from previous research
- UM updated on the progress on comprehensive phytochemical profiling of moss and liverworts, focusing on compounds such as terpenoids and polyphenols
- FEM reported on the generation of first raw transcriptomes sequences from RNA-Seq analysis
- UJM reported on the advancements in the identification and reconstruction of metabolic pathways for various terpenoids produced in sample liverworts
- PAT and BIONOS presented the first results of bioactivity assays for sample bryophytes extracts.
The round of presentations was concluded by HIT, with an overview of the project exploitation strategy.
From the discussion of experimental data and results, preliminary outcomes emerged, such as a growing database of metabolomic and transcriptomic data, which will become a reference for the scientific community, and initial reports on novel bioactivities of sample bryophyte extracts, showing promise for microbial regulation and as anti-inflammatory and antioxidant agents.
In the coming months the focus will shift towards:
- Deeper integration of metabolomic and transcriptomic data to identify candidate biosynthetic pathways.
- Biosynthetic pathway engineering in heterologous hosts
- Advancing from extracts to hit and lead molecules with validated bioactivities
Day 3: Bryological excursion!
On the last day of the annual meeting, the consortium wandered through the woods of the Ardèches in search of bryophytes! The hiking was filled with stunning landscapes, fascinating expanses of local mosses and liverworts growth and lots of laughter and convivial moments.
Pictures taken by Julie Machon Graeff and Mattia Malfatti
The 1st annual meeting reaffirmed the consortium’s shared commitment: to transform Europe’s overlooked bryophyte diversity into a sustainable resource for innovation, while protecting biodiversity conservation. As BRYOMOLECULES moves into its next phase, the project continues to stand at the crossroads of cutting-edge biotechnology, biodiversity preservation and bioeconomy model.
Author: Stefania Vitale, Project officer at European Science Foundation
