University of Limerick

MATERIALS & SURFACE SCIENCE INSTITUTE

PRESENTATION BY: Professor J. Tony Pembroke, MSSI

PRESENTATION TITLE: Tapping the Bioenergy Potential of Rhodococcus opacus

ABSTRACT
With diminishing liquid fuel stocks, increased fuel pricing and the failure of first and second generation crops to compete as feedstock for biofuels, many researchers have turned to other feedstocks that do not compete with agricultural crops. Rhodococcus opacus is a gram positive single celled bacterium that is rather unique in that it stores excess nutrients as triacylglycerides. Under stress and under defined nutrient conditions, the organism can accumulate up to 87% lipid as cell dry weight. The fatty acid portion of triacylglycerides can readily be transesterified via methanol to the methyl ester of fatty acids, the base for biodiesel. Examination of the metabolic capability of Rhodococcus opacus from its genome sequence however indicates that although it has unique ability to grow on naphthalene, toluene and other aromatic organic compounds, its ability to utilise sugars, polysaccharides (cheap substrates) is almost non existent. Here we will explore the potential for metabolic engineering of this organism using a novel vector we developed based on ICE element integration, examine potential tools that could ‘reengineer’ the organism and illustrate the requirements for gene knockouts and rapid tools needed to recover high producing strains that can produce the lipid feedstock economically.

ABOUT THE PRESENTER
Professor Tony Pembroke is a staff member (and former Head of Department) in the Department of Chemical and Environmental Sciences at the University of Limerick and a member of MSSI. He obtained his PhD from NUIG in 1982 in the area of Molecular Biology, Biochemistry and Microbiology of DNA repair systems. This was followed by an EMBO Postdoctoral Fellowship to the University of Leiden, The Netherlands examining DNA repair activity in the Department of Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry. Following this, he spent 1 year working on a joint project involving metabolic engineering of industrial microorganisms between Trinity College Dublin and Unilever before joining the University of Limerick. He has been an OECD visiting Fellow to the Rowett Institute studying industrial microorganisms and Cornell University. He was the founder of the BSc in Industrial Biochemistry Programme in 1989. His areas of research include understanding the molecular biology of ICE elements (mobile genomes that integrate into other genomes) and how they control adaptability and pathogenicity in microorganisms and published the first ICE sequence in 2002, work that has recently led to a patent on a human gene therapy vector based on ICE element integration into specific genomic sites. He has been involved in examining biomaterials cell interactions, and examining the phylogenetics of ATAD waste for safety and as a potential biofeed source. More recently he has been involved in looking at the potential of microorganisms as sources of liquid biofuels including biomass for syngas, ethanol production and high lipid producing strains as lipid feedstocks.

DATE:    Thursday, 16 February 2012
TIME:    12h00
VENUE:    MSB-012 MSSI Building

Refreshments will be provided at 11h45
For further information, please contact:
Joan O’Riordan, Tel. No:  (061) 213127 or Email: joan.oriordan@ul.ie