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Søren Kirk Amstrup: Understanding how glyphosate is microbially degraded – Investigating the enzyme machinery for phosphonate degradation

PhD defence, Thursday 25 november 2021. Søren Kirk Amstrup

Søren Kirk Amstrup

During his PhD studies Søren Kirk Amstrup has investigated microbial phosphonate degradation. This has given insight into how different microorganism are able to turnover a wide variety of highly stable phosphonate compounds. Most of these phosphonate compounds are rather stable in nature and demand highly specialized enzymes to drive their degradation. Søren investigated the carbon-phosphorus (C-P) lyase enzyme machinery and by cryogenic electron microscopy has discovered how it is able to utilize a wide range of substrates. This helps to explain how the C-P lyase machinery can be utilized for bioremediation of different phosphonate compounds, among which is the active compound in RoundUp®, glyphosate.

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: Thusday, 25 November 2021 at 13:00.

Place: Building 1251, room 204, Lecture Theatre Eduard Biermann, Søauditorierne, Aarhus University, Bartholins Allé 3, 8000 Aarhus C and online. To receive a link to the event, please send an e-mail to Ph.D. Supervisor Ditlev Egeskov Brodersen (deb@mbg.au.dk) or chair Jan Trige Rasmussen (jatr@mbg.au.dk).

Title of PhD thesis: ABCs of phosphonate catabolism: ATPase driven dynamics of the carbon-phosphorus lyase core complex

Contact information: Søren Kirk Amstrup, e-mail: ska@mbg.au.dk, tel.: +45 26 35 00 11

Members of the assessment committee:
Professor David Zechel, Department of Chemistry, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
Professor Lutz Schmitt, Institute of Biochemistry, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Germany
Chair: Senior researcher Jan Trige Rasmussen, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University

Main supervisor: Professor Ditlev Egeskov Brodersen, Department of Melecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Denmark

Language: The PhD dissertation will be defended in English

The defence is public. The PhD thesis is available for reading at the Graduate School of Natural Sciences/GSNS, Katrinebjergvej 89F, building 5132, 8200 Aarhus N.