BMC Seminar: Practical application of thermophilic bacteria

BMC Seminar Thursday, September 27th at 12:00 in room 343 Læknagarður

Speaker: Dr. Björn Þór Aðalsteinsson, Research Scientist and Project Manager at Matís´s Exploration and Utilization of Genetic Resources division.

Title: Practical application of thermophilic bacteria - potential, benefits and challenges.

Abstract: Current projects at Matís involving utilization of thermophilic bacteria for conversion of low-value biomass into higher-value products will be presented. Development of cell factories that thrive at high temperatures is appealing as it reduces the risk of contamination in bioreactors and facilitates biomass load and product purification. Due to the high temperatures required for their growth, limited genome editing tools are however applicable for genome engineering of thermophilic bacteria. These methods will be reviewed and a novel, thermostable CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing tool, currently under development at Matís, will be presented.

BIO: Dr. Björn Þór Aðalsteinsson obtained a B.Sc degree in Biochemistry from the University of Iceland in 2009. He studied epigenetic changes associated with type 2 diabetes at the Icelandic Heart Association and obtained a M.Sc in Biomedical Sciences in 2012. He obtained a PhD from the University of Cambridge where he worked under the supervision of Prof. Anne Ferguson-Smith (2012-15), studying the role of imprinted genes and their epigenetic regulation during phases of tissue growth. Björn is currently a Research Scientist and Project Manager at Matís’s Exploration and Utilization of Genetic Resources division. His work focusses on practical utilization of thermophilic bacteria; development of thermostable genome editing tools; and utilization of recalcitrant biomass.