Study level
PhD
Master of Philosophy
Honours
Vacation research experience scheme
Faculty/School
Science and Engineering Faculty
Topic status
We're looking for students to study this topic.
Supervisors
- Position
- Principal Research Fellow
- Division / Faculty
- Science and Engineering Faculty
Overview
Biorefineries are centralised industrial facilities that transform waste and by-products from the crop and animal production sectors into products such as food, energy, and materials. As such, they are central 'pillars' of the circular bioeconomy.
Some biorefinery feedstocks are challenging to transform using microorganisms because they contain 'unusual' carbohydrates or a complex mixture of inhibitory compounds.
Research activities
As part of the project you will:
- identify a range of bacteria with potential use for biorefinery feedstocks to produce value-added products
- compare the transcriptome of selected strains during adaptation to growth on biorefinery feedstocks
- identify both common and species-specific adaptation mechanisms.
Outcomes
The aim of the project is to understand the metabolic changes that bacteria make to better use atypical fermentable carbon in their environment and/or overcome the effects of inhibitors.
Skills and experience
If you have experience in one or more of the following scientific fields and strong practical skills it will be well regarded:
- industrial biotechnology
- molecular microbiology
- transcriptomics.
Keywords
Contact
Contact the supervisor for more information.