Genes, Enzymes and Microbes: The gems of industrial biotechnology
“Biotechnology is proving its worth as a technology that can contribute to
sustainable industrial development.”
The Application of Biotechnology to Industrial Sustainability – A Primer, OECD, 2001.
Industrial biotechnology is an area of research and development in which the University of Waikato has had a long and outstanding record of success.
With a particular focus on microbial genes and enzymes from extreme climate ecosystems ranging from New Zealand geothermal soils to the cold Antarctic, this research area has resulted in dozens of postgraduate student degrees and more than 250 publications to date.
Professors Roy Daniel and Hugh Morgan, co-directors of the Thermophile Research Unit in the Faculty of Science and Engineering, along with Professor Roberta Farrell and others, have led the development of enzymes and technologies from culture collections which include thermophilic bacteria (that exist at extreme temperatures), archaea (single-celled microbes), and isolates of Antarctic and New Zealand fungi.
Research over the years has ranged from the upper and lower temperature limits of life, enzymes and organisms for industrial use, biofuels and bioremediation, through to the influence of thermophiles in the dairy industry, and conservation of historic Antarctic huts.
Among the more high-profile research projects, Professor Farrell has led an international research team for the past 12 years to study the biological and non-biological deterioration of Scott’s and Shackleton’s huts in the Ross Dependency, and to advise on their conservation.
A bioremediation project, also headed by Professor Farrell, has led to a breakthrough in treating soil contaminated by PCPs and dioxins with soil fungi, which degrade the contaminants in a natural composting process.
The University’s wide-ranging research in industrial biotechnology has led to a number of commercial contracts and spin-offs. One of these, ZyGEM, uses proprietary enzymes to produce a range of DNA extraction kits for forensic applications.
Professors Farrell, Daniel and Morgan, all elected Fellows of the Royal Society of NZ, continue to teach and conduct research for the University as well as for ZyGEM as members of the company’s Science Advisory Board.
External funding gratefully acknowledged: Foundation for Research Science and Technology, Marsden Fund, and others.
THERMOPHILE RESEARCH UNIT
DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
FACULTY OF SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
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