Biotechnology
Key staff: Professor Pat Harvey, Dr Christian Scheer and Dr Puy Rebollo
This area of research started life with the question: “In wood, how is lignin degraded?” Lignin is the second most abundant natural polymer and one of the most recalcitrant. We found the answer in wood-degrading white-rot fungi: they secrete a lignindegrading peroxidase, which we found to be the same type of protein catalyst produced by plants to make lignin in the first place, but with a key difference: the fungal protein uses a non-specific redox mediator to attack the lignin – which meant we could now think about ways to exploit the protein to degrade other compounds, including man-made dyes, and a range of organic pollutants.
By detailed study of peroxidases from plant, microbial and human sources we have gone on to develop new ideas in a number of areas, including:
- peroxidase-triggered activation of anti-cancer drugs;
- regulating the peroxidase-catalysed synthesis of lignin in plants for making better biofuels;
- the impact of chloride ions on peroxidase-mediated development of greenhouse gases in the forest ecosystem.
We are also curious to find out why plant roots shed their outer lignocellulose cell wall layers in oily environments – which could pave the way for stabilising organic pollutants in contaminated land.
Recent and Current Projects
Field-scale evaluation of a hybrid bioremediation and phytoremediation process for the treatment of hydrocarbon contaminated soil
Three government bodies, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), have funded this project. Further collaboration is with two small enterprise companies and a large multinational company to develop a treatment train for cleaning up petroleum hydrocarbons, using plants and white-rot fungi.
Bioremediation and composting technologies
Using PAS-100 green-waste composts and white-rot fungi, we have been working with companies, a consulting organisation and ReMade Essex to decontaminate a former gasworks and a former oil refinery of petroleum hydrocarbons. We have also worked with companies to develop ways of composting municipal solid wastes.
An integrated process for the production of biodiesel from oilseed rape
This is a new project funded by the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA). It aims to break down the economic, technical and market barriers to establishing biodiesel production and supply chains from locally grown oilseed rape.
The project involves production and process scale-up and optimisation from oilseed rape and creation of a Kent-based supply chain consortium of farmers, biofuels producers, and public and business consumers. R&D requirements are to optimise biodiesel production and process scale up, and develop innovative ways of exploiting by-products of the process. The goals are to reduce UK emissions of carbon dioxide by converting rape oil to road fuel; processing oilseed rape by-products and wastes to generate heat/power; and sequestrating carbon dioxide with waste biofuel ash from burners to produce aggregates as soil conditioners. The end deliverable will be a “blueprint” for viable local biofuel production and consumption and replication.
Publications
Brueck, T., and Harvey, P. J. (2005) Proteomics: Advances, Challenges and Frontiers. The Biomedical Scientist, June 2005.
Harvey, P. J., and Scheer, C. (2006) White-rot fungi and xenobiotics. In: Exploitation of Fungi. British Mycological Society, G. M. Gadd (ed.), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Preis, M., Palmer, J. M., and Harvey, P J. (2005) Mechanism by which plant cell wall defence against xenobiotics affects food quality and safety. First Scientific Workshop, Pisa, Italy, 14–16 June 2005. 134pp.
Scheer, C., Bai, Y., Rees, D., Slater, A., Patten, R., Dougall, T., and Harvey, P. J. (2005) Polyaromatic hydrocarbon decontamination – a biotech strategy. Phytotechnologies to promote sustainable land use and improve food safety. First Scientific Workshop, Pisa, Italy, 14–16 June 2005. 120pp.