Throughout his PhD studies, Casper Bøjer Rasmussen researched in cold-adapted proteases. Proteases degrades and modulate proteins and are indispensable for life as we know it. Organisms that thrive at low temperatures have developed cold-adapted proteases – that is, proteases that perform better at low temperatures compared to the proteases originating from organisms that thrive at relative higher temperatures. Cold-adapted proteases have the potential to reduce the energy-consumption in the industry and households. Currently, most of the industrial proteases, such as those found in many detergents among others, require heating of water to perform effectively. Cold-adapted proteases have the potential to certain perform industrial processes at low temperatures and may make heating of water obsolete. This would spare the environment and save money, which is more relevant than ever.

Casper Bøjer Rasmussen characterized four proteases and identified two of them as cold-adapted proteases. The findings provide further knowledge in cold adaptation and how to potentially engineer energy-efficient industrial proteases.

The PhD study was completed at the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Aarhus University.

This summary was prepared by the PhD student.

Time: Tuesday, 15 November 2022 at 13:00
Place: Building 1871, room 120, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, The Universitetsbyen 81, 8000 Aarhus C
Title of PhD thesis: Cold-adapted proteases: Identifying and characterizing cold-adapted intracellular subtilisin proteases

Contact information: Casper Bøjer Rasmussen, e-mail: cbr@mbg.au.dk, tel.: +45 22889732

Members of the assessment committee:

Professor Elin Moe, Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica (ITQB), Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal

Professor Egon Bech Hansen, National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark

Professor Ditlev Egeskov Brodersen (chair), Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Denmark

Main supervisor:
Professor Jan Johannes Enghild, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Denmark

Co-supervisor:
Senior specialist Carsten Scavenius Sonne-Schmidt, Danish Technological Institute, Denmark

Language: The PhD dissertation will be defended in English

The defence is public.