Julia Ameera Johari bagged the first prize in the Biosciences 3-Minute Presentation (3MP) Competition held at the Faculty of Science recently. Julia is working on her Final Year Undergraduate Project in the lab, investigating the isotopic methane production from methanogenic microbial community in anaerobic sludge. Congratulations Julia!

A coffee session with the lab members was held on 14 December 2022, to commemorate Eka’s successful defence of her MPhil thesis on 13 December 2022. It was good to talk science and life over coffee and cakes!

I was grateful to be given the opportunity to contribute to the Science Diplomacy magazine, which is a publication by the National Institute of Science Communication and Information Resources, India. I took the opportunity to write about my personal journey to science diplomacy, starting with my interest in international affairs and relations, to my participation in the TWAS-AAAS Course on Science Diplomacy in Trieste, Italy.
Read about it here (open-access). Click here for the Science Diplomacy magazine page.

We recently published a review on the microbiomes of biohydrogen production from dark fermentation of industrial wastes, with a special focus on palm oil mill effluent. Read the review at this link (open-access).

Abstract

Biohydrogen production through dark fermentation is very attractive as a solution to help mitigate the effects of climate change, via cleaner bioenergy production. Dark fermentation is a process where organic substrates are converted into bioenergy, driven by a complex community of microorganisms of different functional guilds. Under‐ standing of the microbiomes underpinning the fermentation of organic matter and conversion to hydrogen, and the interactions among various distinct trophic groups during the process, is critical in order to assist in the process optimisations. Research in biohydrogen production via dark fermentation is currently advancing rapidly, and various microbiology and molecular biology tools have been used to investigate the microbiomes. We reviewed here the different systems used and the production capacity, together with the diversity of the microbiomes used in the dark fermentation of industrial wastes, with a special emphasis on palm oil mill effluent (POME). The current challenges associated with biohydrogen production were also included. Then, we summarised and discussed the different molecular biology tools employed to investigate the intricacy of the microbial ecology associated with biohydrogen production. Finally, we included a section on the future outlook of how microbiome‐based technologies and knowl‐ edge can be used effectively in biohydrogen production systems, in order to maximise the production output.

Reference: Dzulkarnain et al. 2022. Microbiomes of Biohydrogen Production from Dark Fermentation of Industrial Wastes: Current Trends, Advanced Tools and Future Outlook. Bioresources and Bioprocessing. 9(16). 1-25. DOI: 10.1186/s40643-022-00504-8

Update: The position has been filled. Thank you for all the interests.

One (1) MPhil by research position is available in my lab. The project involves sampling trips at palm oil mill, sample DNA extraction, metagenomics sequencing, and computational biology analysis of the sequencing data.

Requirements: Malaysian citizen with BSc degree in Industrial Biology, Biology, Biotechnology, Biochemistry, Chemistry and similar, with minimum CPA 3.00.

Monthly allowance will be provided to the successful candidate, up to 18 months.

Kindly email me with your CV at firdausw@utm.my. Position is open until filled.

Our article on biohydrogen production from POME at mesophilic temperature is now published in Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery (Springer). We reported in the article the acclimatization of the sludge inoculum to increasing POME concentration, accompanied by analysis of microbial community changes during the acclimatization process. The physicochemical parameters for biohydrogen production using the acclimatized sludge as inoculum and POME as substrate was later optimized using response surface methodology (RSM)-based design of experiment.

Reference: Audu, J.O., Ibrahim, N., Ibrahim, Z. et al. Optimization of the operational parameters for mesophilic biohydrogen production from palm oil mill effluent using enriched mixed culture. Biomass Conv. Bioref. (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-021-01488-9

Artikel saya yang diterbitkan di laman web Malaysia Gazette berkenaan peningkatan pembacaan maklumat saintifik di kalangan rakyat Malaysia, untuk lebih memahami situasi semasa pandemik ini. Artikel penuh boleh dicapai di pautan dibawah.

Harmful algal bloom (HAB) leading to fish kills is no longer a rare occurrence in Malaysian waters, particularly the strategically and economically important Johor Straits. It is a national border between Malaysia and Singapore, and the coastal areas of both sides are dotted with aquaculture, industrial and residential activities.

In our recent paper published in July 2020, in collaboration with the Institute of Ocean and Earth Sciences (IOES), University of Malaya, we discovered the presence a hypoxic-anoxic “dead zone” (low dissolved oxygen) in the inner Johor Straits, spanning an area of more than 10 km square. We also observed seasonal blooms of diatoms Skeletonema, Chaetoceros, Rhizosolenia and Thalassiosira. Diatoms are important for the marine ecosystems. However high nutrient concentration (particularly from human activities) in the water may lead to excessive proliferation of diatoms, inducing the hypoxic-anoxic conditions. Read more here.

This project was funded by the Transdisciplinary Research Grant Scheme (TRGS), Ministry of Education Malaysia.

Reference: Mohd-Din et al. 2020. Prolonged high biomass diatom blooms induced formation of hypoxic-anoxic zones in the inner part of Johor Strait. Environmental Science and Pollution Research. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-10184-6

Image credit: Terence Ong / CC BY-SA (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)

Update: The position has been filled. Thank you for all the interests.

Conversion of CO2 to CH4 by Methanogenic Microbes for Use in Valued-added Geologic Carbon Capture and Sequestration

We are currently looking for one (1) postdoctoral researcher to work on this project, in collaboration with Petronas Research Sdn. Bhd. (PRSB). It is a multi-disciplinary project, with researchers coming from several UTM faculties and CoE (Department of Biosciences and Department of Physics, Faculty of Science; School of Chemical Engineering and School of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering; and Advanced Membrane Technology Research Centre) together with reservoir geology and geochemistry researchers at PRSB.

Project summary:

Carbon capture and storage (or sequestration) (CCS), is the process of capturing CO2 from large-scale emitters such as fossil fuel refineries, power plants and product manufacturing industries, and transporting it to a storage site. This prevents the CO2 re-entry into the atmosphere. There are several routes available for CCS, which can be divided into physicochemical, biological, and geological route. CO2 sequestration in deep subsurface formations, such as oil and gas reservoirs provides several advantages, such as enhanced oil recovery, and the capability to store up to two thirds of the CO2 in underground systems. The injected CO2 can also be transformed into CH4 by microbes for energy recovery as value-added options, in the presence of suitable electron donors, for example formate and H2.

This exploratory project will involve cultivation of methanogens under laboratory conditions and evaluation of the CO2 to CH4 conversion capacity. It will also involve lab scale reactor optimisations for the production of H2. Self-designed reservoir-mimic reactor will be used for larger scale methanogenesis reactions with CO2 and H2 as feedstocks. Depending on sample availability, microbial community analysis and methanogenesis characterisations will also be done on environmental samples.

Candidate requirements:

Open to both Malaysian and international candidates.

PhD (in biochemistry, biotechnology, chemical engineering, bioprocess engineering, or any related fields) from local or foreign universities.

Experience in any of these skills are an advantage: archaea handling, anaerobic reactor systems, reservoir biology, microbial ecology.

The position is on contract-basis (renewable up to 24 months), based on the candidate and project performance.

A monthly salary of MYR5,000 will be provided.

How to apply:

Kindly e-mail your CV and cover letter to the project leader, Dr. Mohd Firdaus Abdul Wahab at firdausw@utm.my.

Only selected candidates will be contacted for interview.

Position is open until filled.

Our first research book has now been published by UTM Publisher. The book has 12 chapters altogether, compiling research on proteins carried out by UTM researchers and their collaborators. It is now available for purchase at:

eBook: https://www.e-sentral.com/book/info/316417/current-technique-in-protein-science

Hard copy: https://shopee.com.my/Current-Techniques-in-Protein-Sciences-i.86546040.4943749675

Book Preface

“Proteins are the basic building blocks of life. They are defined as large biomolecules, or macromolecules, consisting of one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a variety of functions in the cell, including catalysing metabolic and biochemical reactions, assisting DNA replication, responding to external and internal stimuli, and transporting molecules from one location to another intra-cellularly or extra-cellularly. The study of proteins is important in the fields of biomedicine, environmental sciences, and for industrial applications. The understanding on how protein works at the molecular level assists in the development of new disease therapy, discovery and improvement of the activity of industrially- important enzymes, and discovery of beneficial secondary metabolites in medicinal plants, among many other interesting applications.