17.09.2014
“Proteins Involved In the Regulation of Bioplastics Synthesis from Pseudomonas sp.”
by: Dr. Kamariah Hasan
Lecturer,
School of Biological Sciences,
Faculty of Integrative Science and Technology,
Quest International University Perak
DATE: 17 September 2014 (Wednesday)
TIME: 3.00 – 4.00 pm
VENUE: Lecture Room 4 (Level 3), Applied Sciences Building, QIUP
ABSTRACT
While plastics are undeniably very useful in our daily life today, the uncontrolled usage of this non-biodegradable polymer does contribute to various problems, including the rapid crowding out of landfill areas and environmental pollution. The emergence of biodegradable plastics has provided a potentially useful solution to the problem. Bioplastics or polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are natural polyesters produced by microorganism as a storage compound under conditions where carbon sources are in excess and nitrogen content is limited. The biggest obstacle to replacing conventional plastic with PHA is the high cost of large scale production which has resulted in soaring costs for biodegradable plastics. Research in optimizing PHA production has been hampered mainly because of a lack of understanding on the regulation of PHA synthesis in the bacteria. Several studies have been conducted to better understand the process but knowledge is still sparse in this area. The study reported in this presentation was performed to identify proteins that might be involved in PHA synthesis regulation in a bacterium Pseudomonas sp. USM4-55. The bacterium was isolated from a soil sample from Felda Chini, Pahang. By using the lacZ reporter system, it was found that SecB, Lon protease and anti-sigma K factor are among the proteins involved in the regulation of PHA synthesis in Pseudomonas sp. USM4-55. However, the exact regulatory roles of these proteins are yet to be elucidated.
