www.ntnu.no/bioteknologi

Annu

al Re

port

2007

Department ofBiotechnology

DEPARTMENT OF BIOTECHNOLOGY, NTNUSem Sælands vei 6/8, 7491 Trondheim, Norway

Phone: +47 73593320 Fax: +47 73591283E-mail: postmottak@biotech.ntnu.no

Head of Department: Professor Arne Strøm

Vice Head of Department: Professor Bjørn E. Christensen

COVER PAGE (Photo by Harald Bredholt)

Actinomycete bacteria isolated from the Trondheims fjord

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CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................................4 2. RESEARCH...............................................................................................................6 3. PhD DISSERTATIONS...........................................................................................16 4. PUBLICATIONS.....................................................................................................19 5. EDUCATION ..........................................................................................................24 6. ECONOMY .............................................................................................................27 7. LUNCH SEMINARS...............................................................................................28 8. PERSONNEL........................................................................................................... 30

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1. INTRODUCTION The Department of Biotechnology has ca. 80 employees. Thus, the Department is of an intermediate size as compared with other departments at NTNU. The Department has integrated research activities within the following areas: - Biopolymer chemistry. - Marine biochemistry. - Microbiology, molecular genetics and systems biology. - Microbial ecology and environmental biotechnology. - Food science. Systems biology is a dedicated research area of our Faculty. This year, the Department became a partner in two European projects on systems biology of microorganisms (acronym SysMO). Prof. Svein Valla is the international coordinator of the project on exopolysaccharide production in genetically engineered Pseudomonas bacteria. Prof. II Trond Ellingsen is the local coordinator of the project on metabolic switching in antibiotic producing Streptomyces bacteria. Together, these two SysMO projects involve researchers from universities of six European countries. The projects are scheduled to be operative for a five year period. Furthermore, Dr. Evind Almaas was in 2007 appointed professor of systems biology. Dr Almaas is at present employed at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, CA, USA, and he will join the Department in the fall of 2009. Biopolymer Engineering is another five year project that was initiated in 2007. Biopolymer research is a strong point of the Department and the new project is based on a multidisciplinary strategy comprising genetics and systems biology, polysaccharide chemistry, physics, immunology and fermentation technology. The project has extensive industry cooperation and is aiming at providing novel advanced biomaterials designed for drug delivery systems, tissue engineering, nutraceuticals and cosmetics. The project involves several professors and it is coordinated by prof. Gudmund Skjåk-Bræk. Together with SINTEF Materials and Chemistry, we perform bioprospecting of marine microorganisms which produce carotenoides and other pigments, novel antibiotics and anti cancer drugs, and the essential fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid. Since most marine bacteria remain uncultivable, the construction of metagenomic DNA libraries constitutes an important part of the project. These libraries of environmental DNA are made in broad-host-range plasmid vectors which will

allow gene expression in most Gram negative bacteria. The construction of expression vectors and optimization of recombinant protein expression are important research topics at our Department. In collaboration with SINTEF Materials and Chemistry, we have set up a modern mass spectroscopy laboratory for rapid and accurate identification of metabolites (low-molecular-weight cell components) and a high-throughput screening laboratory for automated handling of microorganisms and chemical and enzymatic analyses. These laboratories are of major importance for the SysMO projects, bioprospecting and several other research projects at our Department. We aim at reaching the frontier in metabolome research. The Department has been quite successful in attracting external funding. For 2007, this funding equalled the university budget. Our research activities are to a large extent based on international and national collaboration. It is noteworthy that of the 45 research papers published in peer-reviewed journals in 2007, more than 50% had international authorship. Such documented international collaboration is of advantage for attracting external funding, but is apparently of disadvantage when it comes to the counting of the so-called publication points. We are happy to announce that Dr. Marit Aursand was appointed adjunct professor in 2007. She is director of research at SINTEF Fisheries and Aquaculture in Trondheim and a specialist in lipid chemistry. The professorship is funded by SINTEF and the Department look forward to further collaboration with SINTEF to strengthen the education and research in food science. The Department educated 16 MSc and three PhD in 2007. A few years ago, we regularly had an output of 30 diploma students per year. The present low number reflects that the uptake of students to the technology program in Chemistry and Biotechnology has been reduced and that the students of the new science program in biotechnology have not yet reached the master level. For the coming years, we expect a large influx of science students which may bring us back to the old output level of MSc candidates. For the next year, we also expect a large increase in the number of PhD.

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However, high-level MSc production will not be sustainable without new hiring of scientific staff and a bettering of the economy of the Department. The scientific staff comprises only 12 and it is of some concern that its members are ageing; i.e. four have passed the age of 60 and only three are below 50 years old. Our traditional lunch seminars have been held regularly throughout the year, thanks to coaching by prof. Kjetill Østgaard and Cecilie Skagfjord. These seminars are especially important to keep information floating within the Department and to give our master students and young researchers an experience in presenting their research data. Arne Strøm

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2. RESEARCH

Biopolymer Chemistry RESEARCH ON BIOPOLYMERS (NOBIPOL)

NOBIPOL (The Norwegian Biopolymer Laboratory at NTNU) is a multidisciplinary research group within NTNU devoted to the field Biopolymer Engineering, with main focus on the science and technologies of marine polysaccharides, in particular alginates and chitosans. Major collaborating departments at NTNU

include the Department of Physics, and the Department of Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine. Collaboration with SINTEF in the biopolymer field is extensive and important. NOBIPOL also collaborates extensively with the industry. Together with the Research Council of Norway NOBIPOL is currently project leader of two KMB projects: Biopolymer Engineering (2007-2012. Partners: FMC NovaMatrix, Advanced Biopolymers, ProBio Nutraceuticals, Aqua Bio Technology, Biotec Pharmacon), and Microbiocidal coatings (2006-2009. Partners: Tine, Vireo). In addition, NOBIPOL is responsible or participates in about 15 externally financed projects. Research project highlights 2007 Non-viral gene delivery with chitosan In relation to the use of polycationic chitosans to form complexes with DNA and deliver genes (in vitro and in vivo), further studies on structure-function relationship has revealed that in addition to parameters as chitosans’ charge density/chain length and stability of complexes, the flexibility of the chitosan chain may contribute to their efficiency as gene delivery vehicles. Chitin characterization and studies of chitin acid hydrolysis A new method to identify and characterize chitin using NMR- spectroscopy has been developed. The kinetics of chitin acid hydrolysis has revealed new insight into the depolymerisation and deacetylation reactions, showing that it is possible to prepare the monosaccharide GlcNAc in high yields from chitin. Carbonyls in polysaccharides Introduction of small amounts (1-10%) of carbonyls (ketones, aldehydes) in polysaccharides may lead to profound changes in the chemical stability (‘hot spot’ for degradation) and changes in solution properties and interactions with other polymers. A new method based on selective fluorescent or isotope labeling combined with multidetector SEC has been developed. We are currently applying the methods to detect and quantify carbonyls in periodate oxidized alginates, pullulan, dextran as well as Sphagnum pectin. It will be developed further to allow analyses of cellulose in degraded paper. In chitosans, periodate selectively reacts with GlcN residues, leaving GlcNAc intact. Partial oxidation (2-10%) opens the GlcN rings, resulting in a highly flexible joint in an otherwise stiff polymer. Oxidized and unoxidized chitosans, with different FA (content of

Academic staff Christensen, Bjørn E. Professor Skjåk-Bræk, Gudmund Professor Vårum, Kjell Morten Professor Valla, Svein Professor Draget, Kurt Ingar Adjunct professor Grasdalen, Hans Professor emeritus Smidsrød, Olav Professor emeritus Staff at other departments associated with NOBIPOL, researchers, post.docs, Ph.D. students and technical staff: see NOBIPOL website: http://www.biotech.ntnu.no/nobipol/

Professor Skjåk-Bræk was appointed as the new leader (director) of NOBIPOL from January 2007. Professor Skjæk-Bræk follows the previous director, professor Olav Smidsrød, who retired and became professor emeritus in November 2006. Professor Smidsrød, will be special advisor and will certainly play an important role in NOBIPOL in the years to come.

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GlcNAc), were studied by multi detector SEC. We concluded that the intrinsic chain stiffness of chitosans is only marginally dependent upon FA, but decreases upon oxidation. Interestingly, chitosans are more flexible than mannuronan (homopolymeric alginate), which share the same cellulose-like backbone geometry with chitosans. Oxidized chitosans turn out to have different solubility profiles, and are promising candidates for several biomedical applications such as DNA/siRNA vectors, drug delivery and tissue engineering. Paper ageing In 2007 we started collaboration with SINTEF Energy to study the macromolecular events associated with paper ageing in electrical transformers. The ageing will be monitored at the micro- and nanoscale (SEM, TEM, FT-IR) and at the molecular level (multidetector SEC, microcalorimetry) Cell encapsulation and tissue engineering Activities within tissue engineering have mainly been in connection with the Chicago Project, an international collaboration for a diabetes cure. Human insulin producing pancreatic islets were encapsulated in TAM (Trondheim alginate microcapsule) and cell function evaluated in mice without an immune system (Nude mice). Capsules containing human islets were shown to cure diabetic mice up to the end of the study, 330 days after transplantation. The capsules ability to protect the graft against host destruction was also found to be very promising as encapsulated human islets were protected against the immune system of mice and allowed for curing diabetic mice from 100-200 days post transplantation. The cause of failure at a very late stage is the current focus of the research together with baboon studies and validation for FDA approval to run clinical experiments with human islets in TAM. Capsule properties such as swelling and permeability can be improved by using epimerized alginates. The use of epimerized alginates have allowed a further understanding of the function of alternating sequences in the alginate gel (two submitted papers), and functional properties of alginate gels can be tailored. Ongoing studies include cell growth and islet viability in capsules of epimerized alginates. In addition to ion cross-linked alginate gels, we work on other alginate based materials for tissue engineering including covalently cross-linked alginates, alginate/lactose-modified chitosan hydrogels and bio- mineralization of alginate gels. Tissue engineering: Alginate foams Highly purified polysaccharides possess properties making them suitable for preparation of synthetic extra- cellular matrices (ECM) relevant for immobilization of cells and tissue regeneration. A new project (Ph.D- student) focusing on alginate based foams was initiated in 2007 in collaboration with FMC NovaMatrix

Marine gelatins Basic research has focused on the improvement of physical properties of marine gelatins as function of extraction conditions (PhD project). It has been shown that some fractions of extracted fish gelatin give gels at considerably higher temperatures than what has been known so far (up to 18.5 0C melting temperature). The presence of high molecular weight components is important to achieve such melting temperatures. These studies strongly suggest that the standard procedure for the manufacturing of mammalian gelatins is not required nor desired for the production of fish gelatins. Considerable more gentle extraction procedures are preferred. The applied research activity has been in cooperation with ProBio Neutraceuticals A/S and Aqua Bio Technology A/S, and has focused on issues such as nutraceutical formulations, the emulsification properties of random coil marine gelatins and further optimization of biological macromolecules in cosmetic skin preparations. Calanus as a basic fish feed constituent One PhD project that is approaching its end is the evaluation of the use of Calanus finmarchicus (“Raudåte”) as a constituent in fish feed, especially in early weaning feed (as an alternative to Artemia) for marine larvae. The underlying idea is to see if it should be possible to harvest organisms on a low trophic level, with an acceptable lipid and protein content, for the use in feed. The largest challenge is to control the protein contents during feed manufacturing. Calanus, as is the case for many zoo-plankton species, shows an extremely high catabolic enzyme activity post mortem. It has been observed that during 1 hour storage at room temperature, more than 50% of the original protein is lost as free amino acids or peptides. It has been shown that it is hard to control the loss of protein from alginate encapsulated Calanus without a pre-treatment consisting of either alkali or high temperatures. Furthermore, the use of proteins as gel forming matrices (e.g. gelatins) also sets some serious limitations due to proteases acting on the gel network. Food coatings and pads The preservative and apparently antimicrobial properties of Sphagnum mosses have been studied with the aim of exploitation in food preservation. A new KMB project involving Vireo AS and Tine AS and the Veterinary College (Oslo) is currently running. In 2007 we have initiated studies of antimicrobial properties of phenolic compounds in Sphagnum, as well as acid/base properties of the holocellulose fraction. Future work will be expanded towards microarray studies of antibacterial effects of polysaccharides, and development of edible coatings.

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Teaching fermentation at farm biogas facility (photo M Indergaard).

Environmental Biotechnology and Microbial Ecology

Overview Environmental biotechnology is the application of biotechnology for solving environmental problems, both in the environment per se (e.g. bioremediation) or in man made ecosystems (e.g. sewage treatment plants). Environmental biotechnology search for technologies that are in accordance with ecological principals, based on a join them instead of beat them strategy. Microbial ecology, defined as scientific studies of interactions and basic principals that determine the distribution and abundance of micro organisms, is therefore a basic platform for analyses of problems and development of technologies.

The group is involved in teaching general microbiology, environmental biotechnology and microbial ecology. The research includes studies in both natural and human created ecosystems. The research is coordinated with various groups at NTNU and SINTEF, and involves cooperation both nationally and internationally. A large part of the work is a part of one of NTNU strategic areas – Marine and Maritime research, and is thus coordinated inter departmentally and inter faculty.

The main research areas of the group include the following:

Microbial management of marine fish larvae Interactions between fish larvae and bacteria are key factors for development, survival and growth of larvae, and dependent on the bacterial community it may be either detrimental or beneficial. The research within this area includes monitoring of bacterial communities using culture dependent and culture independent methods, screening for and use of probiotic bacteria (including mechanisms of action) and controlled recolonization of water. We have also developed procedures for establishing bacteria free cod larvae as a tool for studying bacteria/larva interaction in gnotobiotic systems. This tool combined with gene expression studies in fish larvae are assumed too boost progress in studies of bacteria/larva interactions, and we are among the first lab in the world to establish bacteria free fish. One PhD student has been connected to these activities, with focus on the use of gnotobiotic cod cultures for studies of bacteria/larva interactions.

Water quality in aquaculture Water quality in our studies refers to chemical and biological conditions, with the last relating primarily to bacteria and micro algae. There is a two-way link between chemistry and biology as micro-organisms convert chemical constituents (e.g. ammonia and dissolved organic matter) and various types of chemicals selects for specific microbes. The work has focused on the effect of biotic and abiotic particles for

Academic staff Kjetil Østgaard Professor Olav Vadstein Professor $ In cooperation with Professor Y. Olsen, Dep Biology, NTNU

Larvae of Atlantic cod and candidate probiotic bacteria (photo montage KJ Playfoot).

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water chemistry and bacterial conditions, and the impact of recirculation technology for transformation of chemicals and to select for a non-opportunistic bacterial community and its subsequent effects on larval viability. One PhD student has been connected to these activities.

Disinfection of ballast water Ballast water from ships is a continuing treat to ecosystem structure and functioning through the introduction of alien species. A new international convention is to be implemented to avoid the problem, but it will require establishments of appropriate disinfection/treatment technologies and strategies. So far focus has been on multi cellular organisms, but our group has focused on inactivation strategies and techniques for bacteria. Focus has been on limitations of today’s disinfection technology, and recolonization kinetics of treated water. One PhD student has been connected to this activity.

Molecular Biology and Microbiology

Structure and function of natural planktonic ecosystems Natural ecosystems are influenced by a variety of man-made disturbances, including nutrient emissions, pollutants and global warming. Ecosystems have a limited ability to manage such disturbances without loss of ecosystem integrity. that the stability of planktonic ecosystems is strongly linked to the species inventory of the system, and that the development of the algal community is strongly dependent on the interactions Knowledge on this “buffer capacity” of planktonic marine systems is limited, but to provide such information has been a key topic of the group. Lately the focus has been on the primary produces – grazer interactions and with particular emphasize on the impact of omnivory (i.g. one species feeding on several trophic levels). It has been shown between ciliates and copepods in a species dependent way. One post doc has been connected to these activities.

Alginate Research and Systems Biology Alginate research has been a major topic for a large number of years at our Department. The molecular biology of synthesis of this industrially important biopolymer has been extensively studied in the bacteria Pseudomonas fluorescens and Azotobacter vinelandii, and in 2007 this field was expanded to also include the use of P. fluorescent as a model in Systems Biology studies. This research is now funded by a European program (SysMo), and Valla is the coordinator of the

project. The activities were formally started in March 2007 and also involve SINTEF, a group in Germany and another in England. The project is in addition supported by a post. doc. from NTNU. A major basis behind this project is that the extensive knowledge we have on alginate synthesis can be used as a model to study metabolic network function in bacteria. This particular system also has the advantage that large quantities of alginate can be produced so that a major shift in metabolism is introduced when bacteria are shifted from no to maximal levels of alginate production. The genetic design of strains useful for the studies is the responsibility at NTNU, while cultivations are carried out at SINTEF. The responses are studied at the RNA (microarrays, commercial service), protein (the German partner) and metabolite (NTNU and the partner in England) levels, and the resulting complex data sets will be integrated into an in silico model of cell metabolism and gene expression. The model is constructed by the post. doc. funded by NTNU, and the initial parts of the work were performed in collaboration with professor Jens Nielsen at DTU, Denmark (professor II at NTNU). An illustration of the identification of proteins changed in their expression as a result of the alginate production status is shown in the figure on page 8.

Academic staff Levine David W. Professor Strøm Arne Professor Valla Svein Professor Zotchev Sergey Professor Bruheim Per Associate professor Dykyy Oleksandr Associate professor Haugen Åge Adjunct professor Nielsen Jens Adjunct professor Ellingsen Trond Adjunct professor

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Comparison of proteins expressed in the absence (wt, green) and presence (mucA, red) of alginate synthesis in Pseudomonas fluroescens. The pH values refer to the conditions used for separation of the proteins by gel electrophoresis. The expression levels of proteins that are marked red or green are significantly different between the two strains (wt and mucA). PFLU numbers refer to the code of each specific gene expressing the respective proteins, while in some cases the gene/protein name is known and directly indicated. At the end of the year we have obtained data sets for all these activities, but the information is not yet sufficiently complete to enable us to construct an integrated picture of how the cellular machinery has adjusted to the very different conditions (alginate synthesis on and off). We expect to be able to construct and write a publication covering such a first integrated model in 2008. The alginate research has also been continued unrelated to the Systems Biology project, and the main focus is now on the bacterium Azotobacter vinelandii, which has the potential to be genetically modified to in vivo produce alginates with unique structures. This goal was not achieved in 2007, but several of the sub goals were reached so that we expect to be able to make the desired strains in 2008. The activity in this field is part of a bigger collaboration with two industries which also involves enzyme evolution aiming at more efficient utilization of cyclic compounds (naphthalene and derivatives thereof) present in certain oil fractions. The project is currently at a stage where we are starting the screening for mutant enzymes that can cleave the naphthalene derivatives currently not attacked by available enzymes.

Recombinant gene expression technologies This project concerns the development of recombinant gene expression methods for bacteria. The main activity has focused on the modification of the key elements controlling the expression level, such as the promoter and the DNA region corresponding to the 5’ untranslated region of mRNA. The experiments are carried out by using plasmid vectors that have been extensively studied for many years in our laboratories. These vectors are now used for industrial production via a Norwegian company (see figure on page 9) and we have also recently got a license contract with a big international company for a related type of application. In 2007 we filed two patents covering the new discoveries, and we are currently in the process of publishing the data in scientific journals. One paper was published early in 2007 (Appl. Env. Microbiol. 73: 906-912). Some of the results are of very significant interest also from a basic science point of view, and after publishing currently available data we hope to be able to attract more funding to carry on the research in this direction.

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Folder used by the Norwegian company Affitech that produces a protein commercially based on the technology described in the text.

Search for new antibiotics Cancer and infectious diseases caused by pathogenic microorganisms account for tens of millions of deaths every year. Severe side effects encountered upon administration of certain anti-cancer and anti-infective drugs, as well as rapid development of antibiotic resistance, prompt the constant search for and development of novel medicines for fighting these diseases. Nature represents a rich source of biologically active compounds that can be useful for that purpose, and bacteria known as actinomycetes produce a wide variety of such compounds. During the last 3 years IBT, in collaboration with SINTEF Materials and Chemistry, have established a collection of diverse actinomycetes, and developed the means for high-throughput screening of these bacteria for production of antibiotics. In 2006 we have identified several natural compounds active against multi-resistant bacteria and fungi, as well as against cancer cells (in collaboration with the University of Bergen).

Actinomycete bacteria isolated from the Trondheims fjord.

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Some of these compounds appear to be novel, and therefore will be further investigated with respect to their possible use in human medicine. In addition, we have carried out isolation of rare actinomycete bacteria using special techniques (in collaboration with Gause Institute of New Antibiotics, Russia), taxonomical characterization of isolated actinomycetes, cloning of genes for the biosynthesis of an anticancer compound, development of a range of media and conditions in order to reveal antibiotic production potential of actinomycete bacteria. All these achievements became possible through a fruitful collaboration between IBT and the partners mentioned above. We believe that some of our compounds discovered in the frame of this project can become leads for development of new, safe and efficient drugs.

Organization of almAB locus in the paraffin-degrading bacterium Acinetobacter 6A2.

Genetics of bacterial alkane degradation Paraffins, mainly composed of long chain alkanes (LCA), pose a serious problem in the recovery and transportation of heavy oils due to the build up of paraffin deposits. Solidification and aggregation of LCAs can cause clogging of oil production pipes, deposition of paraffins in the process equipment and sealing off pores in the reservoirs. Partial degradation, i.e. reduction in chain length of LCAs present in such oils, is likely to significantly increase its quality as well as enhance the recovery. In collaboration with SINTEF Materials and Chemistry and Satoil AS we have identified bacterial strain Acinetobacter venetianus 6A2 capable of degrading LCAs. Through studying genetics of alkane degradation in this bacterium, we have identified three enzyme systems showing overlapping alkane substrate specificities. Those are represented by two AlkM–type alkane hydroxylase homologues, AlkMa and AlkMb, and one system encoded by a gene locus designated almAB. AlkMa and AlkMb are involved in the degradation of LCAs with carbon chain lengths from C10 to C20. AlmAB, however, is involved in the degradation of LCAs with a chain length of C30 to C40.

The AlmAB enzyme system is of particular interest as it will degrade the heavier paraffin components. Efficiency and specificity of these enzyme systems are currently under investigation.

Biosergen AS Fungal infections represent a growing problem due to the rapidly increasing number of patients with their immune systems compromised because of an HIV infection, certain types of anticancer chemotherapy, or administration of immunosuppressive drugs after organ transplantation. According to the Antifungal Work Group at NIH, there is a “critical need for the development of antifungal agents”. Since 1996, IBT was engaged in research on biosynthesis of antifungal antibiotic nystatin by the bacterium Streptomyces noursei. Nystatin itself is too toxic to be used for treatment of serious fungal infections, while novel analogues with lower toxicity can potentially be produced. In collaboration with SINTEF Materials and Chemistry, we have developed the means for generating new, potentially improved, analogues through genetic engineering of the nystatin biosynthetic genes. Based on this technology, the company Biosergen AS was jointly established in November 2004 by SINVENT AS (Norway) and Karolinska Development II AB (Sweden). The company’s mission is to develop new antifungal antibiotics with improved therapeutic and pharmacological properties based on the technology of engineered nystatin biosynthesis. Two former IBT employees highly experienced in bacterial genetic engineering are currently working at Biosergen AS. The company has generated over 30 novel nystatin analogues through combined biosynthetic and chemical engineering. Some of these analogues display high antifungal activity and low toxicity in animal model, thus making them very promising lead compounds for further development.

Biosergen AS website (www.biosergen.com)

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Food Science

Overview Norway is the world’s largest net exporter of seafood. The main research field of the food science group is research on the biochemistry and quality of food raw materials and the changes taking place during processing. In 2007 two master students graduated (two masters in Technology). One PhD defended her thesis – Revilija Mozuraityte (June 2007). The title of her thesis was: Oxidation of marine phospholipids in liposomes.

Marine by-products Marine by-products are a valuable raw material which can be utilized to produce food ingredients, health food products, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. Globally more than 91 million tons of fish and shellfish are caught each year. Some of the by-products are utilized today, but huge amounts are wasted. Annual discard from the world fisheries were (FAO) estimated to be approximately 20 million tons (25%) per year. Therefore it is a great potential for the fishing industry to utilize more of what is landed. This includes "waste" or by-products or what should really be called rest raw materials. The food science group participates in a Nordic project with the aim to maximize utilization of resources by using fish by-products for value added products where we are looking at production of fish protein hydrolysates.

Superchilling The most important factor for increasing shelf life is the product temperature. Superchilling means storage of food products at 1 to 3 centigrades below their initial freezing point. In practical terms the product is stored at 0˚ to -4˚C. In this way, the ice is magazinated inside the product instead of as external ice, which significantly lower the demand for extra ice for transport. The purpose of this preservation method is to prolong the shelf life and to improve the biochemical, microbial and sensorial quality of fresh food. For many

food products, superchilling results in better quality compared to conventional chilling. However – there is a need to study the biochemical and physiochemical processes taking place in the food at superchilling temperatures. The Food Science group participates in a large Norwegian project where these aspects will be further studied.

Calanus The supply of fish oil and fish meal for feed production is expected to be a limiting factor for the fast growing aquaculture industry. Zooplankton, such as Calanus finmarchius, may be an attractive alternative raw material source for production of fish feed. Studies of Calanus have shown large seasonal and geographical variations in lipid content and composition of the lipids. Calanus is subject to rapid degradation after catch, and has active proteolytic and lipolytic enzymes. The proteolytic activity has been characterized with regard to pH and temperature.

Salting Salted meat and fish are traditional food products and salted fish (clip-fish) account for about 60% of the total export of white fish. There is need for better understanding of the salting process and the mechanisms of salt and water uptake in order to be able to optimize salting processes and produce high quality products. NMR/MRI is being used as a method to assess salt distribution and water status.

Ethical slaughtering of white fish The importance of cod aquaculture is increasing and there is therefore a need to find good slaughtering procedures for cod. The slaughtering procedures have to minimize the negative effect on fish welfare and at the same time lead to high quality cod. Slaughtering procedures leading to a minimum of stress can also enable pre-rigor processing of the fish. Product quality of farmed cod – effect of handling stress and storage conditions The main objectives are to determine effects of handling stress combined with storage conditions on quality of farmed cod to determine which biochemical changes that are important for the resulting sensory

Academic staff Turid Rustad Professor Marit Aursand Adjunct professor

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quality. Both proteome analysis, sensory and instrumental quality evaluation will be used identify biochemical markers of handling stress that can be used for prediction of product quality.

Lipid and protein oxidation Seafood is our main source of healthy lipids. The most beneficial parts of these lipids are the fatty acids called EPA and DHA. These acids are polyunsaturated and therefore they react very easily with oxygen. The oxidation is a highly unwanted reaction because it leads to several problems. Oxidation is the cause of rancid taste in fish and fish products - and oxidation leads to destruction of the healthy fatty acids such as the EPA and the DHA. In addition, it is assumed that some of the oxidation products might be harmful to humans. Lipid oxidation products can react with proteins and lead to changes in

protein properties, affecting texture changes in muscle structures, leading to dry and less juicy products. The process of oxidation thus has to be controlled and minimized. To control this we have to understand the oxidation process. Measurement of dissolved oxygen uptake in a special analytical system has shortened the time to measure oxidation rate from days to minutes. The method is well suited to measure the effect of antioxidants, which are compounds that reduces the oxidation rates, and prooxidants, which increase the rate of oxidation. Results show that lipid oxidation is extremely dependent upon temperature. Also a reduction in free iron in processed seafood can reduce the lipid oxidation. This work is done as part of an EU project – Seafoodplus and as part of a Norwegian project.

Studying effects of slaughtering and chilling methods on cod.

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Cooperation with Sintef

Joint Mass spectrometry laboratory and collaboration with SINTEF Biotechnology Department of Biotechnology, NTNU has together with SINTEF Materials and Chemistry, Department of Biotechnology, over the last few years established a joint laboratory for mass spectrometry (MS) based metabolite analysis. The laboratory is equipped with eight mass spectrometers, 2 NTNU instruments, 1 joint financed and 5 SINTEF instruments. These mass spectrometers are suited for both quantitative analysis (single and triple quadropol) and qualitative analysis for identification and structural characterization (Time-of flight and Ion-Trap). The LC (liquid chromatography) and CE (capillary electrophoresis) instruments can be interfaced with either quadropol, ion-trap or the Time-of-flight instruments. One GC-single quadropol mass spectrometer is used for quantitative analysis and a GCxGC-QTOF MS instrument with supreme chromatographic resolution for qualitative analysis will be installed second half of 2008. Per Bruheim was in 2006 granted funding from NTNU for purchasing a GCxGC-QTOF MS instrument as part of the strategic initiative at NTNU on Systems biology. This joint laboratory including trained and skilled personnel is therefore in position to perform advanced metabolite analysis and we are in frontline nationally to develop new MS-based metabolite analysis technology. Per Bruheim has recently together with co-workers developed a method for rapid quenching of metabolism and quantitative extraction of metabolites in microbial cells. Metabolome analysis (i.e. comprehensive analysis of all metabolites in a cell) is challenging and no single analytical method can cover the whole metabolome. We are therefore establishing different GC-MS and LC-MS protocols to cover the various classes of metabolites such as amino acids, vitamins, organic acids, sugars, bases, fatty acids and lipids, sugar phosphates etc. Sample preparation including rapid inactivation, metabolite extraction and concentration are issues that we are addressing since the quality of the analysis depends very much upon the sampling conditions. The Metabolome laboratory is extensively used on the two ongoing system biology projects at NTNU/SINTEF; the SysMO projects on Pseudomonas fluorescens and Streptomyces coelicolor. Metabolomics, as one of the ‘omics, represents important data of cellular status and response to external perturbations. Metabolome data are

Per Bruheim and Norun Følsvik, service engineer from Matriks, the supplier of Agilent instruments, in front of three SINTEF Biotechnology LC-MS instruments. used together with transcriptome and proteome data in integrative data analysis and mathematical modelling of cellular systems.

Collaboration with other departments at NTNU The NTNU part of laboratory is in use, both on a regular basis and ad hoc, by students and researcher from at other departments at NTNU. Currently, the LC-MS Trap system is used on a regular basis by personnel from Department of Biology and Department of Chemistry. Per Bruheim is responsible for the instruments at NTNU and is also training all users of the instruments. No one is admitted to run the instruments without proper training. Students projects cover metabolome analysis in human cells exposed to oxidative agents in collaboration with Department of Cancer research and Molecular Medicine, analysis of BMAA, β-methylaminoalanine, a rare amino acid associated with the nerve degenerating Alzheimer like Guam disease in collaboration with Department of Chemistry and development of Ion Trap technology for confirmation analysis of drug abuse in collaboration with Department of Clinical Pharmacology.

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3. PhD DISSERTATIONS

Aslak Einbu, Thesis NTNU, 2007:74 Characterisation of chitin and a study of its acid-catalysed hydrolysis Summary: Chitin is one of the most abundant biopolymers in nature and the most widespread amino-polysaccharide. Chitin is used as raw material for the industrial production of chitin-derived products such as chitosans, derivatives of chitin/chitosan, oligosaccharides and glucosamine (GlcN). The main industrial source of raw material for the production of chitin are cuticles from various crustaceans, mainly crab and shrimp. The chemical composition of shrimp shells from deep water shrimp harvested industrially in the Barents Sea was studied in relation to the use of shrimp shells as a raw material for chitin production. No clear seasonal variations were found in the content of the three main components of the shell (protein, minerals and chitin). Average chitin content was 18±2 % of the dry weight of the shrimp shells. No significant seasonal variation was found in the molecular weight of the chitin extracted from the shells using an optimised procedure for chitin extraction. This indicates the chitin producers can rely on shrimp shell waste as a stable raw material for chitin production throughout the year. Concentrated and deuterated hydrochloric acid (DCl) was found to be a suitable solvent in order to characterise the chemical composition (FA) of chitin by 1H-NMR- spectroscopy. In chitin samples extracted from shrimp shell using 1 M NaOH at 95°C for 1-24 hours as the deproteinisation step, FA was found to decrease linearly with time from 0.96 to 0.91 during the isolation procedure. Extrapolation to zero time suggests that chitin from shrimp shell has a FA of 0.96, i.e. contains a small but significant fraction of de-N-acetylated units. New methods were developed for the determination of the intrinsic viscosity and the molecular weight of chitin dissolved in alkali. Chitin samples of different molecular weights (produced by heterogeneous acid

hydrolysis) were dissolved in alkali (2.77 M NaOH), and their determined molecular weights (from light scattering) were related to intrinsic viscosity by the Mark-Houwink-Sakurada equation, which was found to be [η] = 0.10 MW

0.68 (ml/g). Our study of the solution properties showed that alkali is a good solvent to chitin and that chitin molecules behave as random coils in this solvent. Alkali is an attractive alternative to previously described solvents to chitin, where aggregates and a more extended chain conformation have been observed. 1H-NMR-spectroscopy was used to study de-N-acetylation of the chitin monomer N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) and depolymerisation of the chitin dimer (GlcNAc- GlcNAc) in DCl. A glucofuranosyl oxazolinium ion was found to exist in equilibrium with GlcNAc in acid concentrations above 6 M. The H-1 resonances from the oxazolinium ion can be used to quantify the amount of GlcNAc in a sample of chitin oligomers in DCl. The reaction rate constants for hydrolysis of the glycosidic linkage of the chitin dimer (kglyc) and the N-acetyl linkage of the monomer GlcNAc (kacetyl) were determined as a function of acid concentration (3-12 M) and temperature (25-35°C). The two rate constants were found to be similar at the lowest acid concentration (3 M), while kglyc was much higher than kacetyl at the highest acid concentration (12 M). Activation energies of the de-N-acetylation and depolymerization reactions were similar at all acid concentrations. This implies that the acid concentration but not the temperature can be used to control kglyc relative to kacetyl during acid hydrolysis of chitin. The kinetics of hydrolysis of chitin and chitosan tetramer (GlcNAc4 and GlcN4) in concentrated HCl was studied using gel filtration to determine the amounts of tetramer, trimer, dimer and monomer as a function of time. A new theoretical model for the kinetics of depolymerisation of a tetramer was developed. The model uses two different rate constants for the hydrolysis of the glycosidic bonds in the oligomers, assuming that glycosidic bond next to one of the end residues are hydrolysed faster than the two other glycosidic linkages. The two rate constants were estimated by fitting model data to experimental results. The results show that hydrolysis of the tetramers is a nonrandom process as glycosidic bonds next to one of the end residues are hydrolysed 2.5 and 2.0 times faster as compared to the other glycosidic linkages in the fully N-acetylated and fully N-deacetylated tetramer, respectively. From previous results on other oligomers and the reaction mechanism, it is likely that the glycosidic bond that is hydrolysed fastest is the one next to the nonreducing end. Rate constants for hydrolysis of glycosidic linkages of a fully N-acetylated

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oligomer were found to be 50 times higher as compared to the glycosidic linkages in a fully de-N-acetylated oligomer. A new theoretical model was developed to simulate the kinetics of hydrolysis of chitin in concentrated acid. The model uses three different rate constants; two for the hydrolysis of glycosidic linkages following an N-acetylated or a de-N-acetylated sugar unit (kglycA and kglycD, respectively) and one for the de-N-acetylation reaction (kacetyl). The three rate constants were estimated by fitting model data to experimental results from 1H- NMR of chitin hydrolysed in concentrated DCl. The rate constant kglycA was found to be 50 times higher as compared to kacetyl and 110 times higher than the rate constant kglycD. 1H-NMR-spectra of chitin in concentrated DCl (40°C) were obtained as a function of time until the samples were quantitatively hydrolysed to the monomer glucosamine. Results show that the initial phase of the reaction involves mainly depolymerisation of chitin chains, resulting in that almost 90% (molar fraction) of the chitin is converted to the monomer GlcNAc which is then de-N-acetylated to glucosamine. Our model predicts (in comparison with our previous results) that the yield of GlcNAc is drastically lowered upon a decrease in the concentration of acid, and/or the FA of the chitin starting material. Revilija Mozuraityte, Thesis NTNU, 2007:143 Oxidation of marine phospholipids in liposomes Summary: Marine phospholipids contain a high amount of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), which have a documented beneficial effect on human health. Due to this, marine phospholipids have a high potential for use in products for human consumption. However, due to the high amount of n-3 PUFAs, marine phospholipids are very susceptible to lipid oxidation, which cause loss of sensory and nutritional value in foods, some oxidation compounds are even toxic. A successful incorporation of marine phospholipids in processed foods would most probably be in the form of lipid dispersions, where some common constituents such as iron would be present. Iron, which is a very important mineral from a nutritional point of view, is also a very

strong pro-oxidant. Studies of oxidation in oil/water systems catalyzed by iron would provide valuable information on oxidation kinetics. This thesis summarizes the work done on oxidation of marine phospholipids in liposomes. Measurement of dissolved oxygen uptake was chosen as the main method to study lipid oxidation. This fast and simple method enabled screening of the influence of different conditions on oxidation. The mechanisms for iron catalyzed oxidation in liposomes are discussed. When Fe2+ was added to liposomes, an initial drop in dissolved oxygen followed by a slower linear oxygen uptake was observed. Addition of Fe3+ induced only the linear oxygen uptake. The initial fast drop in dissolved oxygen was due to breakdown of pre-existing lipid peroxides by Fe2+. In this reaction alkoxy radicals were formed and Fe2+ was oxidized to Fe3+. Fe3+ formed was further reduced by peroxides to Fe2+ at a slow rate (compared to Fe2+ oxidation rate). When equilibrium between Fe2+ and Fe3+ was achieved, the linear oxygen uptake was observed and Fe3+ became the rate limiting factor in the circulation between Fe3+ and Fe2+. Both alkoxy and peroxy radicals are presumably formed by breakdown of peroxides by Fe2+ and Fe3+. These radicals react with fatty acids giving a lipid radical reacting with oxygen. The rate of slower linear oxygen consumption followed Arrhenius kinetics and the variation in activation energy found (60-70 kJ/moles*K). The rate of slower linear oxygen uptake in liposomes was proportional to the concentration of iron and the lipid concentration in the assay mixture. The oxygen consumption rate was dependent of pH with a maximum observed between pH 4 and 5. The pH effect was explained by the iron availability and Zeta potential changes at different pH. Different salts had different influence on the linear oxygen uptake in liposomes. Cations (Na+, K+, Ca+, Mg+) did not influence the rate of oxidation in the tested range (Ionic strength (I) 0-0.14 M). Among the tested anions: sulphates and nitrates did not change oxygen uptake rate significantly, but chlorides (KCl, NaCl, CaCl2) reduced the oxidation rate down to approximately 45% and dihydrogen phosphate down to 14%, when I=0.14M. The effect of Clֿ og H2PO4ֿ was additive. When the liposomes contained different concentrations of chlorides, a linear relationship between oxygen uptake rate and Zeta potential was observed. When phosphate was added, the oxygen uptake rate was not related to the changes in Zeta potential. The influence of pH, temperature, concentration of NaCl, phospholipids and Fe2+ on slower linear rate were described by mathematical equations. The modelled data based on the described equations fitted within 10% standard deviation with observed values.

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Aina Nedal , Thesis NTNU, 2007:135 Post-PKS modifications in the biosynthesis of the antifungal antibiotic nystatin Abstract: The antifungal polyene macrolide nystatin is produced by Streptomyces noursei ATCC 11455. The nystatin biosynthesis gene cluster of Streptomyces noursei has been cloned and sequenced, and a biosynthesis route has been predicted. In the present work, investigation of genes presumably involved in post-PKS modifications of nystatin is described. The aim of this work was to better understand the nystatin biosynthesis and to further use this information for generation of novel nystatin analogues. Two PKS-modifications of the nystatin molecule were targeted in this study: glycosylation with mycosamine at C-19 and oxidation of the exocyclic methyl group at C-16. Two genes putatively involved in mycosamine biosynthesis (NysDIII and NysDII) and one in attachment of mycosamine to the nystatin aglycone (nysDI) have been identified in the nystatin gene cluster. Their functions have been suggested, respectively, as a putative mannose dehydratase, aminotransferase and a glycosyltranferase. The deoxysugar mycosamine is proposed to have an important function for the activity of nystatin. To better understand the biosynthesis and importance of mycosamine and to perform modifications of nystatin via this post-PKS modifying step, the mycosamine biosynthesis was studied. The NysDIII protein was over expressed in Escherichia coli and purified, and its in vitro mannose 4,6-dehydratase activity was confirmed. To study the function of nysDII and nysDI, the genes were individually deleted from the S. noursei chromosome. Both mutants were shown to produce a mixture of nystatinolide and 10-deoxynystatinolide, albeit at considerably different levels. Complementation experiments unequivocally confirmed the involvement of these two in mycosamine biosynthesis and attachment. Both antifungal and hemolytic activity of the purified nystatinolides were tested, and were found to be strongly reduced compared to nystatin, confirming the importance of the

mycosamine moiety for the biological activity of nystatin. A gene for putative P450 monooxyganse NysN has been identified in the nystatin biosynthesis gene cluster. The function of NysN has been predicted to be oxidation of an exocyclic C16 methyl group on the nystatin molecule in order to afford a C16 carboxyl. The latter group has been implicated in selective toxicity of other polyene macrolides, and thus is considered an important target for manipulation. The nysN was inactivated in S. noursei by both in-frame deletion and site-specific mutagenesis, and the resulting mutants were shown to produce 16-decarboxy-16-methylnystatin, supporting the suggested biological role of NysN as C-16 methyl oxidase. The recombinant NysN protein was also expressed in E. coli, but its C16-methyl oxidase activity in vitro could not be demonstrated. 16-decarboxy-16-methylnystatin was purified from the nysN mutant, and its antifungal activity was identical with nystatin whereby the toxicity was reduced compared to nystatin. In the work of developing new methods for obtaining nystatin analogues, bioconversion of nystatinolide was performed as a means to modify nystatin aglycone. For this purpose a sub-library of 35 different Streptomyces strains isolated from the Trondheim fjord was selected. One strain was shown to be able to add a water molecule (presumed epoxidation) and another strain was able to chlorinate the nystatinolides. An attempt on alternative glycosylation of nystatinolide was performed by using glycosyltransferase hybrids and deoxysugar biosynthesis gene cassettes. However, these experiments did not afford novel nystatin analogues, suggesting strong preference of the NysDI glycosyltransferase for its natural sugar substrate GDP-mycosamine.

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4. PUBLICATIONS

Publications in refereed journals 1. Aachmann, Finn; Fomenko, Dmitri E.; Soragni,

Alice; Gladyshev, Vadim N.; Dikiy, Alexander. Solution structure of selenoprotein W and NMR analysis of its interaction with 14-3-3 proteins. Journal of Biological Chemistry 2007;282(51):37036-37044

2. Aursand, Marit; Standal, Inger Beate; Axelson,

David E.. High-Resolution 13C Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Pattern Recognition of Fish Oil Capsules. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 2007;55:38-47

3. Ballance, Simon; Børsheim, Knut Yngve;

Ingjerdingen, Kari; Paulsen, Berit Smestad; Christensen, Bjørn Erik. A re-examination and partial characterisation of polysaccharides released by mild acid hydrolysis from the chlorite-treated leaves of Sphagnum papillosum. Carbohydrate Polymers 2007;67:104-115

4. Brautaset, Trygve; Jakobsen, Øyvind Mejdell;

Josefsen, Kjell D.; Flickinger, Michael C.; Ellingsen, Trond Erling. Bacillus methanolicus: a candidate for industrial production of amino acids from methanol at 50°C. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology 2007;74:22-34

5.

Bredholt, Harald; Galatenko, Olga A.; Engelhardt, Kerstin; Fjærvik, Espen; Terekhova, Larissa P.; Zotchev, Sergey. Rare actinomycete bacteria from the shallow water sediments of the Trondheim fjord, Norway: isolation, diversity and biological activity. Environmental Microbiology 2007;9(11):2756-2764

6. Christensen, Bjørn Erik; Skjåk-Bræk,

Gudmund; Smidsrød, Olav. Comment and Reply - Comment on “Conformational changes and aggregation of alginic acid as determined by fluorescence correlation spectroscopy”. Biomacromolecules 2007;8:3279-3279

7. Claussen, Ingrid Camilla; Strømmen, Ingvald; Hemmingsen, Anne Karin Torstveit; Rustad, Turid. Relationship of product structure, sorption characteristics, and freezing point of atmospheric freeze-dried foods. Drying Technology 2007;25(5):853-865

8. Dentini, Mariella; Rinaldi, Gianluca; Barbetta,

Andrea; Risica, Daniela; Anselmi, Claudio;

Skjåk-Bræk, Gudmund. Ionic gel formation of a (pseudo)alginate characterised by an alternating MG sequence produced by epimerising mannuronan with AlgE4. Carbohydrate Polymers 2007;67:465-473

9. Dikiy, Alexander; Novoselov, Sergey V.;

Fomenko, Dmitri E.; Sengupta, Aniruddha; Carlson, Bradley A.; Cerny, Ronald L.; Ginalski, Krzysztof; Grishin, Nick V.; Hatfield, Dolph L.; Gladyshev, Vadim N.. SelT, SelW, SelH, and Rdx12: Genomics and molecular insights into the functions of selenoproteins of a novel thioredoxin-like family. Biochemistry (Easton) 2007;46:6871-6882

10. Donati, Ivan; Haug, Ingvild; Scarpa, Tommaso; Borgogna, Massimiliano; Draget, Kurt Ingar; Skjåk-Bræk, Gudmund; Paoletti, Sergio. Synergistic effects in semidilute mixed solutions of alginate and lactose-modified chitosan (chitlac). Biomacromolecules 2007;8:957-962

11. Dooms, Stefania; Papakostas, Spiros; Hoffman,

Stefan; Delbare, Daan; Dierckens, Kristof; Triantafyllidis, Alexander; De Wolf, Tania; Vadstein, Olav; Abatzopoulos, Theodore J.; Sorgeloos, Patrick; et al.. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) as a tool for the characterisation of Brachionus sp. strains. Aquaculture 2007;262:29-40

12. Duun, Anne Sissel; Rustad, Turid. Quality

changes during superchilled storage of cod (Gadus morhua) fillets. Food Chemistry 2007;105:1067-1075

13. Einbu, Aslak; Grasdalen, Hans; Vårum, Kjell

Morten. Kinetics of hydrolysis of chitin/chitosan oligomers in concentrated hydrochloric acid. Carbohydrate Research 2007;342:1055-1062

14.

Einbu, Aslak; Vårum, Kjell Morten. Depolymerization and de-N-acetylation of chitin oligomers in hydrochloric acid. Biomacromolecules 2007;8:309-314

15.

Falch, Eva; Størseth, Trond Røvik; Aursand, Marit. High resolution NMR for studying lipid hydrolysis and esterification in cod (Gadus morhua) gonads. Chemistry and Physics of Lipids 2007;147:46-57

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16. Fjellheim, Anders; Playfoot, Karina Jane; Skjermo, Jorunn; Vadstein, Olav. Vibrionaceae dominates the microflora antagonistic towards Listonella anguillarum in the intestine of cultured Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua L.) larvae. Aquaculture2007;269:98-106

17. Gallart-Jornet, Lorena; Barat, José Manuel;

Rustad, Turid; Erikson, Ulf; Escriche, Isabel; Fito, Pedro. A comparative study of brine salting of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) and Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). Journal of Food Engineering 2007;79:261-270

18. Gallart-Jornet, Lorena; Barat, José Manuel;

Rustad, Turid; Erikson, Ulf; Escriche, Isabel; Fito, Pedro. Influence of brine concentration on Atlantic salmon fillet salting. Journal of Food Engineering 2007;80:267-275

19. Gallart-Jornet, Lorena; Rustad, Turid; Barat,

José Manuel; Fito, Pedro; Escriche, Isabel. Effect of superchilled storage on the freshness and salting behaviour of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) fillets. Food Chemistry 2007;103:1268-1281

20. Greco, L.; Capri, E.; Rustad, Turid. Biochemical

responses in Salmo salar muscle following exposure to ethynylestradiol and tributyltin. Chemosphere 2007;68:564-571

21. Hartono, Ardi; da Silva, Eirik F.; Grasdalen,

Hans; Svendsen, Hallvard Fjøsne. Qualitative determination of species in DETA-H2O-CO2 system using 13C NMR spectra. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research 2007;46:249-254

22. Hultmann, Lisbeth; Rustad, Turid. Effects of

temperature abuse on textural properties and proteolytic activities during post mortem iced storage of farmed Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua). Food Chemistry 2007;104:1687-1697

23. Iotti, M.; Fava, P.; Ballance, Simon;

Christensen, Bjørn Erik; Rustad, Turid. Absorbent pads for food trays made from Sphagnum moss. Italian journal of food sciences 2007:104-109

24. Jakobsen, Anita N.; Aasen, Inga Marie; Strøm,

Arne Reidar. Endogenously synthesized (-)-proto-quercitol and glycine betaine are principal compatible solutes of Schizochytrium sp. strain S8 (ATCC 20889) and three new isolates of phylogenetically related thraustochytrids. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 2007;73:5848-5856

25. Jørgensen, Tor Erik; Sletmoen, Marit; Draget, Kurt Ingar; Stokke, Bjørn Torger. Influence of oligoguluronates on alginate gelation, kinetics, and polymer organization. Biomacromolecules 2007;8:2388-2397

26. Kayitmazer, A. Basak; Strand, Sabina P.; Tribet,

Christophe; Jaeger, Werner; Dubin, Paul L.. Effect of polyelectrolyte structure on protein-polyelectrolyte coacervates: Coacervates of bovine serum albumin with poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) versus chitosan. Biomacromolecules 2007;8:3568-3577

27. Kostopoulou, Venetia; Vadstein, Olav. Growth

performance of the rotifers Brachionus plicatilis, B. ‘Nevada’ and B. ‘Cayman’ under different food concentrations. Aquaculture 2007;273:449-458

28. Lale, Rahmi; Tukel, C; Akcelik, M. Protein profile

and plasmid content of Lactococcus lactis subsp lactis LL5Z and Lactococcus lactis subsp cremoris LC79 strains under several stress conditions. Turk veterinerlik ve hayvancilik dergisi 2007;31:247-252

29. Myklestad, Sverre M.; Børsheim, Knut Yngve.

Dynamics of carbohydrates in the Norwegian Sea inferred from monthly profiles collected during 3 years at 66°N, 2°E. Marine Chemistry 2007;107:475-485

30. Mørch, Yrr Asbjørg; Donati, Ivan; Strand, Berit

Løkensgard; Skjåk-Bræk, Gudmund. Molecular engineering as an approach to design new functional properties of alginate. Biomacromolecules 2007;8:2809-2814

31. Nedal, Aina; Sletta, Håvard; Brautaset, Trygve;

Borgos, Sven Even F.; Sekurova, Olga; Ellingsen, Trond E.; Zotchev, Sergey. Analysis of the mycosamine biosynthesis and attachment genes in the nystatin biosynthetic gene cluster of Streptomyces noursei ATCC 11455. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 2007;73:7400-7407

32. Olsen, Yngvar; Andersen, Tom; Gismervik,

Ingrid; Vadstein, Olav. Protozoan and metazoan zooplankton-mediated carbon flows in nutrient-enriched coastal planktonic communities. Marine Ecology Progress Series 2007;331:67-83

33. Riebroy, Siriporn; Benjakul, Soottawat;

Visessanguan, Wonnop; Tanaka, Munehiko; Erikson, Ulf; Rustad, Turid. Effect of irradiation on properties and storage stability of Som-fug produced from bigeye snapper. Food Chemistry 2007;103:274-286

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34. Robertson, LJ; Forberg, Torunn; Hermansen, L; Hamnes, IS; Gjerde, B. Giardia duodenalis cysts isolated from wild moose and reindeer in Norway: Genetic characterization by PCR-RFLP and sequence analysis at two genes. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 2007;43:576-585

35.

Sal, Lena Solli; Aachmann, Finn; Kim, Hwa-Young; Dikiy, Alexander; Gladyshev, Vadim N.. NMR assignments of 1H, 13C and 15N spectra of methionine sulfoxide reductase B1 from Mus musculus. Biomolecular NMR Assignments 2007;1:131-133

36. Salehi, Payam; Walker, John; Madsen, Karen L.;

Sigurdson, Grant T.; Strand, Berit Løkensgard; Christensen, Bjørn Erik; Jewell, Laurence D.; Churchill, Thomas A.. Relationship between energetic stress and pro-apoptotic/cytoprotective kinase mechanisms in intestinal preservation. Surgery 2007;141:795-803

37. Sikorski, Pawel ; Mo, Frode; Skjåk-Bræk,

Gudmund; Stokke, Bjørn Torger. Evidence for egg-box-compatible interactions in calcium-alginate gels from fiber X-ray diffraction. Biomacromolecules 2007;8:2098-2103

38. Sletta, Håvard; Tøndervik, Anne; Hakvåg,

Sigrid; Nedal, Aina; Aune, Trond Erik Vee; Aune, Randi; Evensen, G.; Valla, Svein; Ellingsen, Trond Erling; Brautaset, Trygve. The presence of N-terminal secretion signal sequences leads to strong stimulation of the total expression levels of three tested medically important proteins during high-cell-density cultivations of Escherichia coli. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 2007;73:906-912

39. Solgaard, Geir; Standal, Inger Beate; Draget, Kurt Ingar. Proteolytic activity and protease classes in the zooplankton species Calanus finmarchicus. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology. Part B, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology 2007;147:475-481

40. Throne-Holst, Mimmi; Wentzel, Alexander;

Ellingsen, Trond E.; Kotlar, Hans-Kristian; Zotchev, Sergey. Identification of novel genes involved in long-chain n-alkane degradation by Acinetobacter sp. strain DSM 17874. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 2007;73:3327-3332

41. Tøndervik, Anne; Strøm, Arne Reidar.

Membrane topology and mutational analysis of the osmotically activated BetT choline transporter of Escherichia coli. Microbiology 2007;153(3):803-813

42. Veliyulin, Emil; Aursand, Ida Grong. 1H and 23Na MRI studies of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) fillet pieces salted in different brine concentrations. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 2007;87:2676-2683

43. Villas-Boas, Silas G.; Bruheim, Per. Cold

glycerol–saline: The promising quenching solution for accurate intracellular metabolite analysis of microbial cells. Analytical Biochemistry 2007;370:87-97

44. Villas-Boas, Silas G.; Bruheim, Per. The potential

of metabolomics tools in bioremediation studies. Omics 2007;11:305-313

45. Wentzel, Alexander; Ellingsen, Trond Erling;

Kotlar, Hans-Kristian; Zotchev, Sergey; Throne-Holst, Mimmi. Bacterial metabolism of long-chain n-alkanes. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology2007;76:1209-1221

Conference contributions 1. Aarstad, Olav Andreas; Ballance, Simon;

Christensen, Bjørn Erik; Skjåk-Bræk, Gudmund. Application of HPAEC-PAD to derermine the distribution of oligosaccharides in acid hydrolysed alginate with varying composition. [Poster]. 14th European Carbohydrate Symposium; 02.09.2007 - 07.09.2007

2. Bruheim, Per. Microbial metabolomics

[Vitenskapelig foredrag]. AgResearch; 01.06.2007 -01.06.2007

3. Christensen, Bjørn Erik. Application of GPC-

MALLS-Viscosity measurements to characterization of biopolymers [Vitenskapelig foredrag]. Seminar lecture; 19.04.2007 - 19.04.2007

4. Christensen, Bjørn Erik. Chain stiffness of

semiflexible polysaccharides: a comparative analysis [Vitenskapelig foredrag]. 14th European Carbohydrate Conference; 02.09.2007 - 07.09.2007

5. Christensen, Bjørn Erik. Master of Science in

Nanotechnology (at NTNU) [Vitenskapelig foredrag]. Int. Conference on Nanoscience and Technology (Session on nano education); 04.07.2007 - 06.07.2007

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6. Christensen, Bjørn Erik. Polysaccharides with reactive carbonyl groups [Vitenskapelig foredrag]. KIFEE seminar; 04.12.2007 - 07.12.2007

7. Christensen, Bjørn Erik; Vold, Inger Mari

Nygård; Kristiansen, Kåre Andre; Stokke, Bjørn Torger; Sletmoen, Marit. Analysis of shape and interactions of polysaccharides and polysaccharide complexes using size-exclusion chromatography with multiple detectors. [Vitenskapelig foredrag]. SCM-3 Third International Symposium on Separation and Characterization of Natural and Synthetic Macromolecules; 31.01.2007 - 02.02.2007

8. Crescente, Christian; Hultmann, Lisbeth;

Rasmussen, Kjetil; Torsæter, Ole; Strøm, Arne Reidar; Kowalewski, Espen. Experimental Investigations of Microbial Improved Oil Recovery [Poster]. SPE Forum Series; 09.09.2007 - 14.09.2007

9. Haug, Ingvild. Fra hermetikk til kosmetikk - mange

bruksområder for marine biopolymerer [Vitenskapelig foredrag]. SIVA-nett konferanse; 16.04.2007 - 17.04.2007

10. Haug, Ingvild. Marine gelatins [Vitenskapelig

foredrag]. KIFEE; 04.12.2007 - 07.12.2007

11. Haug, Ingvild. Physical properties of marine

gelatins - alone and mixed with kappa-carrageenan [Vitenskapelig foredrag]. Landsmøte NKS; 16.10.2007 - 17.10.2007

12. Jørgensen, Hanne; Fjærvik, Espen; Hakvåg,

Sigrid; Bruheim, Per; Bredholt, Harald; Klinkenberg, Geir; Zotchev, Sergey. Spread of antibiotic biosynthesis genes among streptomycetes in the Trondheim fjord possibly involves mobile genetic elements [Poster]. The Fourteenth International Symposium on the Biology of Actinomycetes 2007 (ISBA14); 26.08.2007 - 30.08.2007

13. Kristiansen, Kåre Andre. An evaluation of the

detection of carbonyl groups in water soluble polysaccharides as a function of molecular weight using fluorescence and tritium labeling [Poster]. 14th European Carbohydrate Symposium; 02.09.2007 - 07.09.2007

14. Mozuraityte, Revilija; Rustad, Turid; Storrø,

Ivar. Characterisation of Fe2+ as prooxidant of phospholipids [Poster]. The 4th SEAFOODplus Conference; 04.06.2007 - 06.06.2007

15. Mozuraityte, Revilija; Rustad, Turid; Storrø, Ivar. The mechanism of iron induced peroxidation of PUFA'S in liposomes [Poster]. The 4th SEAFOODplus Conference; 04.06.2007 - 06.06.2007

16. Mozuraityte, Revilija; Rustad, Turid; Storrø,

Ivar. The role of iron in peroxidation of phospholipids in liposomes [Vitenskapelig foredrag]. 5th Euro Fed Lipid Congress and 24th Symposium of the Nordic Lipidforum; 16.09.2007 - 19.09.2007

17. Mærk, Mali. Identification of genes affecting

alginate biosynthesis in Azotobacter vinelandii [Vitenskapelig foredrag]. Azotobacter Genome Meeting; 16.03.2007 - 18.03.2007

18. Overrein, Ingrid; Rustad, Turid; Evjemo, Jan

Ove; Altin, Dag; Rainuzzo, Jose; Reitan, Kjell Inge. Seasonal- and post mortem changes in Calanus finmarchicus, emphasis on lipids [Poster]. "Human and climate forcing of zooplankton populations", 4th International Zooplankton Production Symposium; 28.05.2007 - 01.06.2007

19.

Skjåk-Bræk, Gudmund. Alginate microcapsules in the treatment of Diabetes I. Present state and future perspectives [Vitenskapelig foredrag]. Guest lecture at the Department of Endocrinology of Maisonneuve-Rosemont-Hospital; 27.09.2007 - 27.09.2007

20. Skjåk-Bræk, Gudmund. Behandling av diabetes

med transplantasjon av insulinproduserende celler; Fakta eller fantasi. [Populærvitenskapelig foredrag]. Cappelens Kurs i Biologi; 23.05.2007 - 23.05.2007

21. Skjåk-Bræk, Gudmund. From Biopolymers to

medical devices and local therapies [Vitenskapelig foredrag]. NovaMatrix international Seminar; 30.08.2007 - 30.08.2007

22. Skjåk-Bræk, Gudmund. Polysaccharide

engineering [Vitenskapelig foredrag]. Guest lectures at The University of Rome “La Sapienza”; 24.10.2007 - 26.10.2007

23. Skjåk-Bræk, Gudmund. Polysaccharide

engineering as an approach to design alginates with new functional properties [Vitenskapelig foredrag]. The14th European Carbohydrate Symposium; 04.08.2007 - 07.08.2007

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24. Sletmoen, Marit; Stokke, Bjørn Torger; Skjåk-Bræk, Gudmund. Dynamic force spectroscopy used to reveal macromolecular motion at the nanoscale of enzymes working on polysaccharides [Poster]. Scanning Probe Microscopies and Organic Materials XVI; 26.09.2007 - 28.09.2007

25. Slizyte, Rasa; Mozuraityte, Revilija; Martinez-

Alvarez, Oscar; Fouchereau-Peron, Martine; Rustad, Turid. Functional, bioactive and antioxidative properties of hydrolysates obtained from cod (Gadus morhua) backbones [Vitenskapelig foredrag]. 2nd International Congress on Food and Nutrition; 24.10.2007 - 26.10.2007

26. Strand, Sabina P.. Tailoring of chitosans for gene

delivery [Vitenskapelig foredrag]. NanoLab ; 07.03.2007 - 07.03.2007

27. Strand, Sabina P.. Tailoring of chitosans for gene

delivery [Vitenskapelig foredrag]. KIFEE ; 05.12.2007 - 05.12.2007

Chapters in books 1. Aursand, Ida Grong; Gallart-Jornet, Lorena;

Rustad, Turid; Erikson, Ulf. LF 1H NMR: Various applications on salmon and cod. I: Seafood: Source of health and well-being: INRB/IPIMAR 2007. ISBN 978-972-9372-31-5

2. Aursand, Ida Grong; Gallart-Jornet, Lorena;

Rustad, Turid; Erikson, Ulf. Water distribution in brine salted cod and salmon fillets studies by LF 1H NMR. I: Seafood: Source of health and well-being: INRB/IPIMAR 2007. ISBN 978-972-9372-31-5

3. Bergene, Nina Iren; Anthonsen, Thorleif; Valla,

Svein. Rensing og karakterisering av AlgL fra Pseudomonas fluorescens, og forsøk på etablering av et in vitro-system for alginatsyntese. Trondheim: NTNU 2007. 134 s.

4. Duun, Anne Sissel; Rustad, Turid. Quality

changes during superchilled storage of cod (Gadus morhua) and Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) fillets. I: Seafood: Source of health and well-being: INRB/IPIMAR 2007. ISBN 978-972-9372-31-5

5. Einbu, Aslak. Characterisation of chitin and a study of its acid-catalysed hydrolysis. Trondheim: Institutt for bioteknologi, NTNU 2007. ISBN 978-82-471-1626-5. 128 s.

6. Hultmann, Lisbeth; Rustad, Turid. Effects of

temperature abuse on textural properties and protelytic activities during post mortem iced storage of farmed Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua). I: Seafood: Source of health and well-being: INRB/IPIMAR 2007. ISBN 978-972-9372-31-5

7. Mozuraityte, Revilija. Oxidation of marine

phospholipids in liposomes. Trondheim: Institutt for bioteknologi, NTNU 2007. ISBN 978-82-471-3134-3. 124 s.

8. Mozuraityte, Revilija; Rustad, Turid; Storrø,

Ivar. The mechanism of iron in oxidation of marine phospholipids. I: Seafood: Source of health and well-being: INRB/IPIMAR 2007. ISBN 978-972-9372-31-5

9. Nedal, Aina. Post-PKS modifications in the

biosynthesis of the antifungal antibiotic nystatin. Trondheim: Institutt for bioteknologi, NTNU 2007. ISBN 978-82-471-2968-5. 159 s.

10.

Næss, Camilla; Vadstein, Olav. Food selectivity and trophic position of mesozooplankton in the Trondheim fjord. Trondheim: NTNU, Institutt for biologi 2007. 79 s.

11.

Rustad, Turid. Physical and chemical properties of protein seafood by-products. I: Maximising the value of marine by-products: Woodhead Publishing 2007. ISBN 978-1-84569-013-7. s. 3-21

12.

Slizyte, Rasa; Mozuraityte, Revilija; Martinez-Alvarez, Oscar; Fouchereau-Peron, Martine; Rustad, Turid. Functional, bioactive and antioxidative properties of hydrolysates obtained from cod (Gadus morhua) backbones. I: Seafood: Source of health and well-being: INRB/IPIMAR 2007. ISBN 978-972-9372-31-5

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5. EDUCATION Department of Biotechnology

The Department of Biotechnology is involved in two different studies in Biotechnology. Both are 5 year programs leading either to Master of Technology in biotechnology (Sivilingeniørstudiet) or a Master of Science in biotechnology. The two programs have common basic courses in biochemistry, microbiology and molecular genetics. The major difference is the focus on chemistry and chemical engineering the first two years of study of the Master of Technology/ Sivilingeniørstudiet in biotechnology as compared to natural science and cell biology in the Master of Science in biotechnology. Students with relevant bachelor degrees from other universities, technical institutes or colleges are offered a 2 year Master program in biotechnology.

Courses

Master courses Course no. Credits Title Lectures Started/

Passed TBT 4100 7.5 Biochemistry, Basic course S. Zotchev/ K. Vårum 129 / 106 TBT 4105 7.5 Biochemistry, Advanced course G. Skjåk-Bræk 84 / 51 TBT 4110 7.5 Microbiology O.Vadstein/P. Bruheim 73 / 53 TBT 4125 7.5 Food Chemistry T. Rustad 19 / 16 TBT 4130 7.5 Environmental Biotechnology K. Østgaard 12 / 9 TBT 4135 7.5 Biopolymers B.E. Christensen 36 / 29 TBT 4140 7.5 Biochemical Engineering P. Bruheim 20 / 15

4TBT 4145 7.5 Molecular Genetics S. Valla 80 / 61 TBT 4100 7.5 Biochemical Engineering, plant design T. Ellingsen 10 / 10 TBT 4155 7.5 Increased Value of Marine Biological Resources K. I. Draget 7 / 4 TBT 4160 7.5 Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry B. E. Christensen 21 / 20 TBT 4500 15 Biotechnology, Specialization project P. Bruheim 16 / 14 TBT 4505 7.5 Biotechnology, Specialization course P. Bruheim 21 / 20 TBT 4850 7.5 Experts in Team, Interdisciplinary project O. Vadstein 20 / 20

PhD courses Course no. Credits Title Lectures Started/

Passed BT 8101* 9.0 Microbial Ecology O. Vadstein BT 8102 7.5 Molecular and Cellular Bioinformatics S. Valla 5 / 3 BT 8103 7.5 Molecular Mechanisms of Toxicology Aa. Haugen 11 / 11 BT 8104 9.0 NMR Biomolecular Spectroscopy O. Dykyy 2 / 2 BT 8105* 7.5 Prokaryote Molecular Biology A.R. Strøm BT 8106 7.5 Glycobiology–Complex Carbohydrates,

Structure and Biological Function G. Skjåk-Bræk 5 / 5

BT 8107 9.0 Marine Biochemistry K.M. Vårum 3 / 3 BT 8108 9.0 Protein Structures A. Smalås 8 / 7 BT 8109* 9.0 Physical/Chemical methods in Biochemistry B.E. Christensen BT 8110 9.0 Food Science, Advanced T. Rustad 4 / 4 BT 8111* 9.0 Biopolymeric Materials K.I. Draget BT 8112 5.0 Fish Salting T. Rustad 1 / 1

* Course is given next time in 2008

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Master students Master of Science Student Title Advisor

Bardal, Renate Kuitert, Baukje

Metabolic engineering of Bacillus methanolicus to regulate the production of L-glutamate or lysine from methanol Investigations of photoreactions in the cancer cell line AY-27m with special emphasis on reactive oxygen species

Trond Ellingsen Kjetill Østgaard

Nærdal, Ingemar Overproduction of L-lysine from methanol by over expressing

genes of the L-lysine biosynthetic pathway in Bacillus methanolicus

Trond Ellingsen

Ormberg, Helen-Sophie Jasmin

Vie, Ane Kjersti Øverby, Anders

Polysaccharide based coatings for controlling microbial growth on foods Identification and characterization of genes with enhanced activity during encystment by screening of a transposon insertion library of Azootbacter vinelandii Expression of the glycine betaine transporters OpuA, OpuD, and ProP in Bacillus methanolicus MGA3

Bjørn Erik Christensen Svein Valla Arne Strøm

Master of Technology Student Title Advisor

Aspnes, Marte Aurstad Trace element analysis of nutritional supplements by HR-ICP-MS Turid Rustad

Barkved, Pundharika In vitro transfection efficiency improved by modified chitosan-

DNA complexes for use in gene therapy Catharina de Lange Davies

Blomvågnes-Bakke, Bente Disinfection of ballast water; Recolonisation of pre-disinfected ballast water

Olav Vadstein

Carvajal, Ana Karina Lipid oxidation in liposomes Turid Rustad

Johannesen, Karin Teien Characterization of individual tRNAs from the mitochondria of wild type and AlkB Homolog3 (ABH3) targeted mice

Arne Strøm

Lien, Stina Katrine Use of GC-MS for identification of molecular markers from H2O2 included DNA repair in HaCaT and HeLa cells

Per Bruheim

Sodeland, Marte Identification of oxidative stress biomarkers in three human cell lines by use of LC-TOF MS and statistical data analyses

Per Bruheim

Strøm, Thea Bismo Isolation and application of low background promoter mutants in the Pm/xylS system

Svein Valla

Strømhylden, Christine Nynes

Detection of biological threat agents in environmental samples Svein Valla

Thorsen, Kaspar Høye Extraction of oil from salmon viscera Turid Rustad

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Student exchange From Department of Biotechnology 2007 Name Master –

program

Institution

Berg, Lars Stenberg MSc University of California, San Diego, USA Borgan, Eldrid MT University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK Igeland, Tove MSc Aachen University of Technology, Germany Klemetsaune, Liv Kvistad MT University of California, San Diego, USA Lian, Nikolai MT University of California, Santa Barbara, USA Mobergslien, Anne MT Institut National des Sciences Appliquees de Toulouse, France Pedersen, Christin Thrane MT Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands Wefring, Siri MT Universidad de Oviedo, Spain

To Department of Biotechnology 2007 Name Institution Beltagy, Ehab National Inst. of Oceanography and Fisheries, Egypt Bourgeois, Ingrid Lab. GRAM, Fac. de Medicine-Pharmacie, France Böhner, Nadine Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms Unvisersität Bonn, Germany Caignard, Alexandre Universite de Technologie Compiegne, France Einarsdottir, Dorothea University of Iceland, Iceland Elter, Jens Tino Martin Luther University Halle/Wittenberg, Germany Gerdes, Ralf Fachhochschule Bonn-Rhien-Sieg, Germany Graça, Vera C.O. Universidade Técnica de Lisboa, Portugal Hangartner, Diego Eidenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) Zürich, Switzerland Kempkes, Martin University of Bonn, Germany Kristinova, Vera Brno University of Technology, Czech Republic La Rosa, Sabina L. Univsersita degli Studi di Catania, Italy Michels, Jan Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms Universität Bonn, Germany Müller, Rebekka Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule (RWTH) Aachen, Germany Pikalova, Tereza Inst. of Chemical Technology, Prague, T Czech Republic Puchau, Tania E.Q. Universidad de Valencia, Spain Tofanciuc, Tatiana Universite de Technologie Compiegne, France Votrubec, Martin Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT) Prague, Czech Republic

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6. ECONOMY The department income consists of university funding and overhead from external projects. In 2007 the income was 17.477.000, of which 80% was used to pay salaries to the permanent staff. In addition, the department has a high externally funded activity. In 2007 the total external income was 19.450.000,-. The number of external projects was approximately 56, and most of these were funded by the Norwegian Research Council. The expenses for external projects are mainly wages and overhead to the faculty and the department. 50 technicians, PhD-students, post docs and researchers were externally funded in 2007.

Accounts 2004 2005 2006 2007 Income Public funding 12 897 000 15 107 000 15 886 000 16535000 Overhead external projects 751 287 377 592 766 580 972 100 Sum income 13 648 287 15 484 592 16 652 580 17 507 100 Expenses Wages 11 650 606 13 288 919 13 724 606 14 060 711 Operating expenses 1 620 839 2 214 013 3 950 796 3 270 038 Sum expenses 13 271 445 15 502 932 17 675 402 17 330 749 Result 376 842 -18 340 -1 022 822 176 351

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7. LUNCH SEMINARS ”LUNSJ-SEMINARER VED INSTITUTT FOR BIOTEKNOLOGI” Tid: Hver TORSdag 12.15-13.00. Sted: Lunsjrom/bibliotek 039. Program våren 2007:

Dato Uke Serie* Navn og tittel: 17/1 3 PhD Siriporn Riebroy: Acid-induced gelation of myofibrillar proteins from freshwater and marine

fish. 24/1 4 Pro Olav Vadstein: DOC og DOM. 31/1 5 Pro Marit W. Anthonsen: Battlefield in vivo: H. sapiens vs. virus! 7/2 6 Pro Karl Tangen: Skadelig plankton som miljøfaktor i norsk havbruk. 14/2 7 Pro Finn Drabløs: Bioinformatikk. 21/2 8 Pro Arne Sunde: Hvordan det blir barn av det. 28/2 9 Pro Lisbeth Hultmann: MiOR: Eksperimentelle undersøkelser av økt oljeutvinning.

7/3 10 Pro Trygve Brautaset: Metabolic engineering av Bacillus methanolicus for effektiv produksjon av aminosyrer fra metanol ved 50°C.

14/3 11 Video Bjørn Larsen: Ekskursjon til Korsvika 9 mars 2005. Tang- og tarearter i den locale fjæra. 21/3 12 PhD Martin Chytil: The Czech Republic and my research on hyaluronic acid 28/3 13 Pro Kjell D. Josefsen: Behandling av ballastvann – noen erfaringer fra laboratorie, pilot og feltforsøk. 4/4 14 --- PÅSKE! 11/4 15 Pro Tore Syversen: Kvikksølv - utfordringen som ikke lar seg pensjonere. 18/4 16 PhD Jon Eysturskard: Properties of gelatin/collagen extracted from Faroese cold water fish species. 25/4 17 Pro Pawel T. Sikorski: Bionanotechnology..

2/5 18 Pro Svein Valla: Rekombinant proteinekspresjon – et mulig satsingsområde av interesse for mange av oss? .

9/5 19 Pro Avlyst 16/5 20 PhD Aina Nedal: Post-PKS modifications in the biosynthesis of the antifungal antibiotic nystatin 23/5 21 AsP Jon Øyvind Eriksen: Jobb? Er ikke noe du får. Men noe du lager. 30/5 22 Pro Inga Marie Aasen: Melkesyrebakterier – metabolic engineering 6/6 23 Pro Kevin Kim: Fabrication of uniform micro spheres and microcapsules and their applications 13/6 24 Pro Finn Aachmann: ”SelW – Structure of selenoprotein” 20/6 25 MoU Ana Karine Carvajal: ”Lipidoksidasjon i emulsjoner”

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Program høsten 2007: Dato Uke Serie* Navn og tittel: 6/9 36 AsP Turid Rustad: Høstens grøde; konservering før og nå. 13/9 37 AsP Wenche Lindseth & Åse Marie Fjelldal: Veien til jegerprøven. 20/9 38 AsP Kjetill Østgaard: På matauk i Namdalen. 27/9 39 MoU Stina Katrine Lien: Bruk av GC-MS for identifisering av molekylære markører fra H2O2 -indusert DNA-reparasjon iHaCaT og HeLa celler. 4/10 40 AsP Trond Erik Vee Aune & Geir Solgaard: Online tools for research and study – including podcasts, webcasts, and newsgroups. 11/10 41 Pro Keith Downing: Artificial evolution. 18/10 42 Asp Åse Marie Fjelldal: Litt om elgjakt 25/10 43 Pro Thorleif Anthonsen: Enzymer med unaturlige substrater og i tøffe omgivelser. 1/11 44 Pro Åge Haugen: Miljø, gener og kreft. 8/11 45 PhD Ida G. Aursand: Lavfelt NMR: Vannets tilstand i muskelen under salting av fisk 15/11 46 Pro: Sergey Zotchev: Actinobacteria from the Trondheims fjord: diversity and commercial potential 22/11 47 PhD Geir Solgaard: Calanus proteases, encapsulated feed, and fish gelatin degradation. 29/11 48 Pro Marit Sletmoen: Single-molecule micromanipulation techniques 6/12 49 Pro: Finn L. Aachmann & Trond Erik Vee Aune: Use of cyclodextrin and its derivates for increased uptake of DNA into competent bacterial cells. 13/12 50 PhD Ingrid Overrein: Bruk av copepoder i akvakultur. 20/12 51 AsP Video: Førjulsmimring; – fra instituttets julebord og forhistorie. _________________________________________________________________________________________________ *Kode Fast under-tittel / kommentar: Pro ”Hva gjør vi? Hva har vi lyst til å gjøre?”* * Vi i betydn. kongelig entall eller ”gruppa”. Lyst til i betydn. kommende 3-årsperiode. / Bidrag fra proffer, proffe forskere / post doc. og vitensk. ansatte. PhD ”Graden min, den blir så fin!” / Bidrag fra PhD-studenter i alle faser av studiet. MoU ”Jeg forteller gjerne - om min diplom med * !” / Bidrag fra Masters of the Univers(ity); nyansatte og hovedfags-studenter. Asp = Annet spennende!* * I betydn. med snev av fag, kultur, eller begge deler. / Bidrag fra gjester og andre. Hvem som vil, egentlig.

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8. PERSONNEL

Scientific staff

Arne Strøm, Professor (Head)

Turid Rustad, Professor

Kjell M. Vårum, Professor

Per Bruheim, Assoc. Professor

Svein Valla, Professor

David Levine, Professor

Olexandr Dykyy, Assoc. Professor

Kjetill Østgaard, Professor

Olav Vadstein, Professor

Bjørn E. Christensen, Professor (Vice head)

Gudmund Skjåk-Bræk, Professor

Sergey Zotchev, Professor

Scientific staff

Arne Strøm, Professor (Head)Arne Strøm, Professor (Head)

Turid Rustad, Professor

Kjell M. Vårum, Professor

Per Bruheim, Assoc. Professor

Turid Rustad, ProfessorTurid Rustad, Professor

Kjell M. Vårum, ProfessorKjell M. Vårum, Professor

Per Bruheim, Assoc. ProfessorPer Bruheim, Assoc. Professor

Svein Valla, Professor

David Levine, Professor

Svein Valla, ProfessorSvein Valla, Professor

David Levine, ProfessorDavid Levine, Professor

Olexandr Dykyy, Assoc. Professor

Kjetill Østgaard, Professor

Olav Vadstein, Professor

Olexandr Dykyy, Assoc. Professor

Kjetill Østgaard, ProfessorKjetill Østgaard, Professor

Olav Vadstein, ProfessorOlav Vadstein, Professor

Bjørn E. Christensen, Professor (Vice head)

Gudmund Skjåk-Bræk, Professor

Sergey Zotchev, Professor

Bjørn E. Christensen, Professor (Vice head)Bjørn E. Christensen, Professor (Vice head)

Gudmund Skjåk-Bræk, ProfessorGudmund Skjåk-Bræk, Professor

Sergey Zotchev, ProfessorSergey Zotchev, Professor

31

Administrative staff

Unni Bragstad,Secretary

Unni Bragstad,Secretary

Wenche Lindseth,Secretary

Wenche Lindseth,Secretary

Cecilie Skagfjord,Secretary

Cecilie Skagfjord,Secretary

Kjetil Rasmussen,Head of administration

Kjetil Rasmussen,Head of administration

Adjunct professors

Trond E EllingsenTrond E Ellingsen Åge HaugenÅge Haugen

Jens NielsenJens Nielsen

Kurt Ingar DragetKurt Ingar DragetMarit AursandMarit Aursand

Professor emeritus

Sverre M. MyklestadSverre M. MyklestadHans GrasdalenHans Grasdalen Olav SmidsrødOlav SmidsrødKjell EimhjellenKjell Eimhjellen

32

Technical staff

Merethe Christensen,Technician

Øyvind Johansen,Technician

Mona Myren,Trainee

Wenche Strand,Technician

Merethe Christensen,TechnicianMerethe Christensen,Technician

Øyvind Johansen,TechnicianØyvind Johansen,Technician

Mona Myren,TraineeMona Myren,Trainee

Wenche Strand,TechnicianWenche Strand,Technician

Ingjerd Mehli,TechnicianIngjerd Mehli,Technician

Anita Storsve,Technician

Anne Bremnes,TechnicianAnne Bremnes,Technician

Elena Ian,TechnicianElena Ian,Technician

Kristin Antonsen,TechnicianKristin Antonsen,Technician

Ingrid Aune Draget,TechnicianIngrid Aune Draget,Technician

Odd Inge Opptun,TechnicianOdd Inge Opptun,Technician

Ann-Sissel Ulset,TechnicianAnn-Sissel Ulset,Technician

Marika H. KrogstadTraineeMarika H. KrogstadTrainee

Siri Stavrum,Technician

Marianne Aune,TraineeMarianne Aune,Trainee

Åse Marie Fjelldal,TechnicianÅse Marie Fjelldal,Technician

Stina Katrine LienTechnicianStina Katrine LienTechnician

Randi Utgård,TechnicianRandi Utgård,Technician

33

Researchers, Post docs.

Kurt Ingar Draget,Adj. Prof

Ingvild Haug

Berit Strand

Finn Aachmann

Simon Balance

Helga Ertesvåg

Lisbeth Hultmann

Sabina Strand Alexander Wentzel

Marianne B Nilsen

Tonje Bjerkan

Espen Fjærvik

Britt I.G. Svanem

Martin Gimmestad

Olga Sekurova

Anne Tøndervik

Sven Even Borgos Kurt Ingar Draget,Adj. ProfKurt Ingar Draget,Adj. Prof

Ingvild HaugIngvild Haug

Berit StrandBerit Strand

Finn Aachmann

Simon Balance

Helga Ertesvåg

Lisbeth Hultmann

Sabina Strand

Finn AachmannFinn Aachmann

Simon BalanceSimon Balance

Helga ErtesvågHelga Ertesvåg

Lisbeth HultmannLisbeth Hultmann

Sabina StrandSabina Strand Alexander WentzelAlexander Wentzel

Marianne B Nilsen

Tonje Bjerkan

Espen Fjærvik

Britt I.G. Svanem

Marianne B NilsenMarianne B Nilsen

Tonje BjerkanTonje Bjerkan

Espen FjærvikEspen Fjærvik

Britt I.G. SvanemBritt I.G. Svanem

Martin Gimmestad

Olga Sekurova

Anne Tøndervik

Sven Even Borgos

Martin GimmestadMartin Gimmestad

Olga SekurovaOlga Sekurova

Anne TøndervikAnne Tøndervik

Sven Even BorgosSven Even Borgos

34

Aslak EinbuAslak Einbu

Hilde K. HolmeHilde K. Holme

Ph.D. students

Trond Erik Vee AuneTrond Erik Vee Aune Laila BergLaila Berg

Hanne DigreHanne Digre Anne Sissel DuunAnne Sissel Duun

Torunn ForbergTorunn Forberg Aursand Ida GrongAursand Ida Grong

Ole-Kristian Hess-ErgaOle-Kristian Hess-Erga

Kerstin EngelhardtKerstin Engelhardt Jonhard EysturskardJonhard Eysturskard

Ellinor B. HeggsetEllinor B. Heggset

Anette I. DybvikAnette I. Dybvik

Sigrid HakvågSigrid Hakvåg

Therese Andersen Anna Karina CarvajalAnna Karina Carvajal

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Mali MærkMali Mærk

Ingrid OverreinIngrid Overrein

Lena S. SalLena S. Sal Mona SennesetMona Senneset Marit StafnesMarit Stafnes

Ph.D. students

Geir SolgaardGeir Solgaard

Aina NedalAina NedalYrr MørchYrr Mørch

Revilija MozuraityteRevilija MozuraityteFrode KrogstadFrode Krogstad Rahmi LaleRahmi Lale

Anita NordengAnita Nordeng

Murside KesMurside KesHanne JørgensenHanne JørgensenØyvind JakobsenØyvind Jakobsen Kåre A. KristiansenKåre A. Kristiansen

36

Inger Beate Standal Trine Aakvik Olav AarstadFrederike St üttgenInger Beate StandalInger Beate Standal Trine AakvikTrine Aakvik Olav AOlav AFrederike St üttgenFrederike St üttgen

Ph.D. students

Department Research Assistants

Anne-Mari G. Pedersen Randi SlagstadTonje StavneAnne-Mari G. PedersenAnne-Mari G. Pedersen Randi SlagstadRandi SlagstadTonje StavneTonje Stavne