2021

NordAqua News & Events

• Conference on 8-9-10 JUNE 2022- Elevating Nordic algal biotechnology: From fundamental photosynthesis to industry

We are delighted to announce that we are organizing a conference titled “Elevating Nordic algal biotechnology: From fundamental photosynthesis to industry” that will be held in Turku, Finland from 8 to 10 June 2022 as a face-to-face* event.

The three-day conference aims to bring together the community of scientists, entrepreneurs and industry representatives working with cyanobacteria, microalgae and macroalgae. We will have some core scientific themes of photosynthesis fundamentals, cell factories, biotechnology, biorefinery and industry. We will have a focus on the Nordic region and wider Europe, and alganeers from all around the world are welcome.

The conference itself will serve as an extended Nordic Algae Symposium 2022 (NAS22) and the final Annual Meeting of the NordAqua Nordic Centre of Excellence. NordAqua (www.nordaqua.fi) is a Nordic Centre of Excellence funded by NordForsk through the Nordic Bioeconomy Programme that aims to develop Nordic algal research and strengthen its impact on blue bio-economy. The Nordic Algae Symposia, started in 2018 by the University of Turku, have been held annually in different Nordic countries to provide a professional arena especially for Nordic alganeers.

Please stay tuned for further details about registration and the programme for the conference by following us on Twitter @NordAqua and visiting our website at www.nordaqua.fi .

• Aboa Tech Talks webinar series 2

The second Aboa Tech Talks will be on solar driven technologies and how researchers aim to address the major global sustainability challenges of our modern society. Solar powered technologies harness energy from sunlight, which is a main source of sustainable energy, and transform it into useable form in our daily lives. The goal of these technologies is to develop novel harvesting solutions for solar energy with higher conversion efficiencies.

The event is launched by Turun yliopisto – University of Turku and 3 other universities in Turku, Finland. Aboa Tech Talks will stimulate a cooperation between the Universities, facilitate interaction with industry, and promote multidisciplinary education as an enabler of clean solar technology development in the Turku region. Join us for the hybrid webinar on 14 December 2021 from 9.30 to 11.30 am. For more information please visit: Aboa Tech Talk 2

• Public Lecture Series in Finnish

We are pleased to invite you to the Public Lecture Series organized under NordAqua and our sister consortia, FuturoLEAF and AlgaLEAF.

The series comprises four hybrid events, with audiences at the Turku City Library and an online stream via Facebook Live on the Facebook page of Library. The lectures will take place in person at the Studio hall of Turku City Library, with audiences limited to 45 due to Covid restrictions.

The lectures will also be streamed live on the Turku City Library Facebook account (Turun kaupunginkirjasto – Åbo stadsbibliotek – Turku City Library). Links to the live streams will be available on each webpage. The lectures will be in Finnish:

on Thursday, 23th September  between 18.00-19.30 by Lauri Nikkanen (Ph.D): Fotosynteesi, maailman tärkein reaktio: Toiminta, tutkimus, ja bioteknologinen hyödyntäminen. For more info https://www.turku.fi/tapahtuma/09232021-1800-fotosynteesi-maailman-tarkein-reaktio-toiminta-tutkimus-ja-bioteknologinen

on Thursday, 30th September  between 18.00-19.30 by Vilja Siitonen (Ph.D): Keinotekoinen lehti – nanoselluloosaan pakatut fotosynteettiset mikrobit solutehtaina. FuturoLEAF projektin esittely. For more info https://www.turku.fi/tapahtuma/09302021-1800-keinotekoinen-lehti-nanoselluloosaan-pakatut-fotosynteettiset-mikrobit

on Thursday, 7th October  between 18.00-19.30 by Tuomas Huokko (Ph.D): Fotosynteettiset solutehtaat – ratkaisu kemiallisten yhdisteiden kestävään tuottamiseen? For more info: https://www.turku.fi/tapahtuma/10072021-1800-fotosynteettiset-solutehtaat-ratkaisu-kemiallisten-yhdisteiden-kestavaan

on Thursday, 14th October  between 18.00-19.30 by Henna Mustila (Ph.D): Mikrolevien hyödyntäminen kestävässä jätevesihuollossa. For more info: https://www.turku.fi/tapahtuma/10142021-1800-mikrolevien-hyodyntaminen-kestavassa-jatevesihuollossa

Join us at the library or connect online via Facebook Live.  Your participation, weather in person or virtually, is greatly appreciated!

• New research articles by the Uppsala Uni team are on-line

Congrats to Uppsala Uni team for publishing! Research articles contributing to WP5-cell factories are on-line.

Semisynthetic [FeFe]-hydrogenase with stable expression and H2 production capacity in a photosynthetic microbe

Current advances in engineering cyanobacteria and their applications for photosynthetic butanol production.

•  A new research article on biosorption of Cd ion by Nordic microalgae is online

Congrats to all authors;  Martin Plöhn,Carlos Escudero-Onate and Christiane Funk for the new research article which is recently out!

The study demonstrates the high potential of Nordic microalgae to remove heavy metals at conditions relevant for an industrial tertiary wastewater treatment unit and will support the development of new, biobased, innovative technologies for the bioremediation of heavy metal polluted streams. Please click to read the article: Biosorption of Cd(II) by Nordic microalgae: Tolerance, kinetics and equilibrium studies

• The Elias Tillandz Prize

Congrulations to Dr. Sindhujaa Vajravel, Dr. Sema Sirin, Dr. Sergey Kosourov and Prof. Yagut Allahverdiyeva-Rinne from University Turku team for winning the Elias Tillandz Prize -awarded to Best BioCity Turku Publication in 2020!

The BioCity Turku Best Publication Prize has been named in honor of Professor Elias Tillandz (1640-1693), renowned as the first empirical life scientist in Turku. Prof. Tillandz earned the title of the “father of botany” in Finland for his groundbreaking botanical study published in 1673, as well as for establishing the first academic botanical garden in Turku in 1678.

This year, the UTU team clinched the prize with their publication titled “Towards sustainable ethylene production with cyanobacterial artificial biofilms.” Team leader Prof. Yagut Allahverdiyeva-Rinne elaborated on the study, stating, “The thin-layer artificial biofilms fabricated in our group have sustained ‘green’ ethylene production from light and CO2 for up to 40 days.”

Acknowledging the critical role of funding in scientific breakthroughs, the team expresses gratitude to all funding bodies, including NordForsk, the Academy of Finland, the Novo Nordisk Fonden, and the University of Turku, for their invaluable support on the project. For more info please click here: The Elias Tillandz Prize 2020

 

• Open postdoc position on photosynthesis and photoelectrochemistry

The UTU Photosynthetic Microbes group is a part of a Nordic Center of Excellence (NordAqua, www.nordaqua.fi) and looking for a motivated postdoc to hire!

The team focuses on both fundamental aspects of photosynthesis, studying alternative electron transport pathways, and also applied photosynthesis, studying water remediation, biofuels and chemical production. You can learn more about the group here: www.utu.fi/photo-microbes .The goal of the project is to utilize the ability of photosynthetic microbes to create solar-driven electricity and produce the targeted chemicals.

Deadline for the application is 30 June 2021!  For more information about the application process see: Postdoc position @Photomicrobes group

• Articles from NordAqua consortium in Physiologia Plantarum special issue

Here you can find articles from our consortium that are published in the Physiologia Plantarum “Blue economy in the North” special issue ! This volume of the journal is a special issue organized in collaboration with NordAqua.

“Bioactive peptides from microalgae: Focus on anti-cancer and immunomodulating activity”

“Chemical diversity and cellular effects of antifungal cyclic lipopeptides from cyanobacteria”

“Doing synthetic biology with photosynthetic microorganisms”

“NordAqua, a Nordic Center of Excellence to develop an algae‐based photosynthetic production platform”

“Nordic cyanobacterial and algal lipids: TAG accumulation, chemotaxonomy and bioindustrial potential”

“Photoautotrophic production of renewable ethylene by engineered cyanobacteria: Steering the cell metabolism towards biotechnological use”

“Photosynthetic hydrogen production: Novel protocols, promising engineering approaches and application of semi‐synthetic hydrogenases”

“Regulatory electron transport pathways of photosynthesis in cyanobacteria and microalgae: recent advances and biotechnological prospects”

“Sustainable resource production for manufacturing bioactives from micro‐ and macroalgae: Examples from harvesting and cultivation in the Nordic region”

“The cell wall of green microalgae and its role in heavy metal removal”

“Wastewater treatment by microalgae”

• FinnCERES Public Seminar: Fibre and Beyond

FinnCERES invites you to a unique showcase of the latest research findings and innovations in the world of bio-based materialson 10 March at 2 PM (EET/GMT+2). Please click here for more info and registration!

• NordAqua Annual Meeting 2021 will be held ONLINE

NordAqua members! We are delighted to welcome you to the NordAqua Annual Meeting 2021, on Thursday 4th March. Unfortunately, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this meeting will be held online. In this meeting our partner organizations will give a brief recap of 2020. The information regarding the final programme and zoom link have already been sent to internal email of NordAqua consortium.

We also would like to inform you that the Nordic Algae Symposium (NAS) is cancelled because of the outbreak. We look forward to meeting you online!

• A new research article on nutrient removal from hydroponic effluent by Nordic microalgae in a greenhouse environment at pilot scale

Congrats to the UTU & LUKE team on the recent publication! The study shows the feasibility of using Nordic cyanobacteria and microalgae for bioremediation of hydroponic effluents from a commercial cucumber greenhouse. This proof-of-concept paper showcases the potential of greenhouse infrastructure to provide artificial light and temperature for microalgae cultivation, presenting an exciting opportunity for microalgae bioremediation in Nordic countries.

Please check here the article: “Nutrient removal from hydroponic effluent by Nordic microalgae: From screening to a greenhouse photobioreactor operation”

• A new research article on pharmaceutical removal with Nordic microalgae at pilot scale

Congrats to Umeå University team members! A new research article is recently out which determines the efficiency of Nordic microalgal strains in API removal using HRAPs fed with municipal wastewater and their fate after treatment! Please click to read the article: Fate of active pharmaceutical ingredients in a northern high-rate algal pond fed with municipal wastewater

• New research articles by the Uppsala Uni team are on-line

Congrats to Uppsala Uni team for publishing! The articles contributing toWP5-cell factories are:

Isobutene production in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 by introducing α-ketoisocaproate dioxygenase from Rattus norvegicus

Metabolic engineering of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 for improved bisabolene production

Engineered cyanobacteria with additional overexpression of selected Calvin-Benson-Bassham enzymes show further increased ethanol production

• Save the date: 04.03.2021 – NordAqua Annual Meeting

The NordAqua Annual Meeting will be held ONLINE on March 4, 2021. NordAqua members, please save the date. The information regarding the details of the annual meeting will be sent to consortium common email list. Please stay tuned!