Chris Chon Long Chio's Biotechnology PhD Dissertation Defense - Friday, August 11, 2023

The Biotechnology PhD candidate Chris Chon Long Chio will present his research:

Advancing the utilization of agricultural waste with mutagenic enzymes and exploring its potential as feedstock for producing various bioproducts from Bacillus velezensis PhCL

Bioconversion of renewable resources has been considered an alternative option for obtaining eco-friendly and sustainable chemicals and energy for industrial applications. Bacterium Bacillus velezensis has attracted numerous researchers’ interest due to its ability to produce various economic and environmentally-friendly biomolecules, such as industrial enzymes, biosurfactants, antioxidants, and antibiotics. In this study, a newly isolated strain B. velezensis PhCL was characterized and its production of various biomolecules was optimized via statistical design. Furthermore, various agricultural wastes such as rice husk, wheat straw, and oat straw, were used as the fermentation feedstock for lowering the production cost of the biomolecules. Moreover, a GH11 xylanase was mutated based on the simulation and calculation. The result suggested that the mutant had a higher efficiency in degrading wheat straw than the original xylanase. Overall, this study has further explored the potential of Bacillus velezensis and agricultural waste in developing green and sustainable economics.

Committee Members: Drs. Wensheng Qin (supervisor), Dr. Kam Leung, Dr. Justin Jiang and Dr. Jinguang Hu (external)

August 11, 2023 at 1:00 pm
zoom link available on request

Everyone is welcome

Contact Brenda Magajna for more information phd.ses@lakeheadu.ca