08.07.2011
BOYSCAST Fellowship in ERI
Dr. Joseph Selvin from the Marine Bioprospecting Laboratory at the Department of Microbiology at Bharathidasan University in India recently completed a 1 year BOYSCAST Fellowship with Professor Alan Dobson’s research group in the Environmental Research Institute.Funded by Department of Science and Technology in India, the BOYSCAST (Better Opportunities for Young Scientists in Chosen Areas of Science & Technology) Programme provides opportunities for young Indian scientists to visit institutions abroad, interact with scientists there, get trained in latest research techniques and conduct R&D in specially chosen frontline areas of science & technology.
During his visit to the Environmental Research Institute, Dr Selvin’s research focused on employing functional metagenomic based approaches to exploit the unculturable fraction of the microbial populations associated with marine sponges isolated from Irish waters, in an effort to identify metagenomic clones that express novel bioactivity, particularly biosurfactant activity. Chemical surfactants are currently employed in the treatment of petroleum hydrocarbons in oil spills, allowing emulsification of the hydrocarbons, thereby increasing their solubility and facilitating their subsequent degradation by oil-degrading microorganisms. However the toxicity and low biodegradability of these chemical surfactants precludes their widespread use in marine environments. Thus the use of biosurfactants may represent an environmentally friendly alternative to help overcome the toxicity of these synthetic surfactants, in these environments.
At the ERI, Dr. Selvin applied high throughput plat screening and PCR-based approaches to exploit industrial leads from the metagenome of the marine sponge Haliclona simulans. He has discovered the signatures of biosurfactants, poly-hydroxy butyrates (bioplastics), haemolysins and esterases in the sponge metagenome. Upon his return to India, Dr Selvin plans to apply these metagenomic based approaches to exploit novel marine ecosystems which his group is currently studying. Based on the research progress of Dr. Selvin in ERI, the Department of Science and Technology, New Delhi has sanctioned an Indo-Ireland bilateral exchange research programme, which will support two further short research visits of Dr. Selvin to ERI within next two years (2011-2013).
Dr. Selvin wishes to express his gratitude and thanks to his host Prof. Alan Dobson (Director, ERI) and Dr. Jonathan Kennedy, (Research Scientist) and acknowledges the assistance of senior Post-docs’ Dr. Niall O’Leary and Dr. Mark O’Mahony and all teams members of Prof. Alan Dobson’s research group.