Plastid Preview

2014 17th + 18th September

University of Kent

...with a focus on the exploitation of microalgae for biotechnological

applications

programme

Venue: Canterbury Christ Church University North Holmes Campus, Powell Building Lecture Theatre PG06 13.30 Registration (Foyer Powell Building) 14.00 Welcome (Colin Robinson, University of Kent) 14.10 – 15.50: 1st session Chair: Christine Raines (University of Essex) 14.10 – 14.30: Mike Page (University of Southampton) Tetrapyrrole-dependent retrograde signalling pathways during chloroplast biogenesis 14.30 – 14.50: Jia He (Royal Holloway University of London) A search for the mode of action of Arabidopsis LYN1, a gene with an impact on the global chloroplast compartment of specific cells 14.50 – 15.10: Erin Butterfield (University of Cambridge) Transcription of the malaria parasite’s plastid genome

Wednesday, 17th September

15.10 – 15.30: Joanna McKenzie (University of Cambridge) Post-transcriptional regulation in the Plasmodium apicoplast

15.30 Coffee Break (Foyer in front of PG06)

15.50 – 17.30: 2nd session Chair: Enrique López-Juez (Royal Holloway University of London) 15.50 – 16.10: Ivan Reyna-Llorens (University of Cambridge) Conserved and recurrent Cis elements regulate decarboxylation related genes in C4 photosynthesis 16.10 – 16.30: Amani O. Abuzaid (University of Essex) Functional Role of CP12 in Arabidopsis. 16.30 – 16.50: Patricia Lopez (University of Essex) Improving C3 photosynthesis to increase yield:

re-engineering of the C3 cycle.

16.50 – 17.10: Maria Perestrello Ramos Henriques de Jesus (University of Copenhagen) Protein scaffolding for optimization of light-driven biosynthesis 17.10 – 17.30: Konstantinos Vavitsas (University of Copenhagen)

Wednesday, 17th September

Engineering of the Isopimaradiene diterpene pathway into the chloroplast of Nicotiana benthamiana. 19.00 Dinner at The Dolphin Venue: The Dolphin, 17 St Radigunds St, Canterbury, Kent CT1 2AA (Detailed directions attached separately.) 22.30 Taxi to Campus Accommodation.

Venue: University of Kent, Canterbury Campus Keynes College Lecture Theatre KLT3 9.00 – 10.40: 3rd session Chair: John Allen (Queen Mary University London) 9.00 – 9.20: Leopoldo Herrera Rodriguez (University of Manchester) Biotechnology of Microalgae.

9.20 – 9.40: Doris Gangl (University of Kent) Expression and Targeting of Proteins. 9.40 – 10.00: Kamil Bakowski (University of Copenhagen) Chloroplasts P450s and light driven biosynthesis. 10.00 – 10.20: Shengxi Shao (Imperial College London) Turning photosystem II into photosystem I 10.20 – 10.40: John Dodd (AlgaeCytes) Challenges for commercial production of microalgal products – an AlgaeCytes view. 10.40 Coffee Break (Keynes Teaching Foyer, in front of KLT3)

Thursday, 18th September

11.00 – 12.20: 4th session Chair: Peter Nixon (Imperial College London)

11.00 – 11.20: Charles Cotton (Imperial College London) The introduction of an alternative carbon fixation pathway into Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803.

11.20 – 11.40: Iskander Ibrahim (University of

Greenwich) Functional characterisation of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 Rhomboid 11.40 – 12.00: Yuen Tin Lui (University College London) Genetically engineering cyanobacteria to produce limonene for use as a biofuel 12.00 – 12.20: Andrew Foster (Durham University) Engineering nickel supply to cyanobacterial hydrogenase to test the relationship between enzyme metallation and metal-sensing 12.20 – 13.40 Lunch Buffet (Keynes Teaching Foyer) 13.40 – 15.00: 5th session Chair: Saul Purton (University College London)

13.40 – 14.00: David Russo (University of Sheffield) Synthetic ecology to create mixed communities for open pond cultivation

14.00 – 14.20: William Brandt (ASU Lightworks) The US Department of Energy’s national algae testbed –

objectives and collaborations

Thursday, 18th September

14.20 – 14.40: Henry Taunt (Algenuity) Algal Biotech: Breaking the Bottlenecks 14.40 – 15.00: Julie Zedler (University of Kent) High value compound production in microalgae. 15.00 Coffee Break (Keynes Teaching Foyer) 15.20 – 16.20: 6th session Chair: Elinor Thompson (University of Greenwich) 15.20 – 15.40: Rosie Young (University College London) Genetic engineering tools for the Chlamydomonas reinhardtii chloroplast 15.40 – 16.00: Laura Stoffels (University College London) Synthesis of antibacterial bacteriophage proteins in microalgae 16.00 – 16.20: Priscilla Dorothy Rajakumar (University College London) Chlamydomonas reinhardtii as an Oral Vaccine Candidate for Infectious Bronchitis Virus 16.20 Closing of the Meeting (Colin Robinson) 16.30 – 17.10: Reception (HRR, Ingram Building)

Thursday, 18th September

Space for green thoughts. ..

We are particularly grateful to the following organisations for sponsorship of the meeting: BBSRC. The sessions on microalgae are being organised as a BBSRC-sponsored workshop on this topic. The Society for Experimental Botany The Journal of Experimental Botany. Please note that a review on microalgal exploitation will be published in J. Exp. Bot. as a follow-up to this meeting. In addition, we are grateful for two BBSRC-funded Networks in Industrial Biotechnology and Bioenergy (NIBBs) for helping to publicise the meeting. These are PhycoNET and BioProtNet. A flyer for PhycoNET is given on the following page.

Acknowledgements

A BBSRC NIBB (Networks in Industrial Biotechnology and Bioenergy)

What is PHYCONET? A UK-wide network, supporting collaboration between academia and industry. The focus is high value products from microalgae and cyanobacteria industrially cultivated using PBR and fermentor-based technologies.

What does PHYCONET do? provides funding for research projects organises free networking events sponsors events in microalgal research organises outreach activities

Funding Business Interaction Vouchers £5000 vouchers available to support new and existing collaborations between academia and industry.

Proof of Concept funding Up to £100,000 available for projects in strategic areas of microalgal biotechnology.

Contact: networkmanager@phyconet.org.uk

Free membership apply for funding attend PHYCONET events access our member’s directory access the forum on our website

What can PHYCONET do for you? Academic members Help establish links with the business community and provide funding for carrying out industry-relevant research.

Industry members Help your business become more competitive, by funding collaborative projects with leading academics.

Supported by and in collaboration with .. .

Funded by the European Union http://photocomm.ku.dk