With support from government, academia, and industry, we aim to transform agricultural resilience on a global scale, contributing to a stable food supply, environmental health, and societal well-being.
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Breaking News
Publication from KOPRI C-SPIRIT Members!
March 20th, 2026
Congratulations to Jisub Hwang, Jun Hyuck Lee, and Hackwon Do (Korea Polar Research Institute) as well as their colleagues on their new paper “A remote surface loop modulates core structure and cold activity in phosphopantetheine adenylyltransferase” published in PLOS One! This study reveals that a small surface loop functions as a remote allosteric switch, maintaining structural flexibility and a positively charged substrate channel that enables the enzyme PPAT to remain catalytically active in cold environments. By uncovering mechanisms of enzyme function under low-temperature conditions, this work contributes to a deeper understanding of biological systems that support resilience and adaptation. Click here to read the article!
Publication from KOPRI and SMU C-SPIRIT Members!
March 9th, 2026
Congratulations to Jun Hyuck Lee (Korea Polar Research Institute) and Tae-Jin Oh (SunMoon University) as well as their colleagues on their new paper “Prediction of bacterial protein-compound interactions with only positive samples” published in Bioinformatics! This study introduces BIN-PU, a machine learning framework that predicts interactions between bacterial proteins and compounds even when only confirmed positive samples are available, addressing a major limitation in training interaction models. By improving the ability to identify enzyme-compound relationships, this work advances tools for discovering bioactive molecules and understanding the biological pathways that produce them. Click here to read the article!
Who We Are
Our mission is to discover bioactive compounds that enhance plant and soil health while engaging industry partners and stakeholders to co-develop technology, promote sustainability, and build public trust. Through international collaboration, C-SPIRIT will train future leaders in the bioeconomy and green agriculture sectors, creating resilient systems that support the world’s food supply.
C-SPIRIT 