In vitro evolution of more thermostable dextranases for the Australian sugar industry. Dextrans are polysaccharides that adversely affect the productivity of sugarcane mills. The Australian sugar industry currently imports dextranases to deal with this problem but they are not heat stable so the mills have run at lower temperatures than optimal. We have isolated dextranases from thermophilic microorganisms and aim to improve their performance by generating superior heat-stable dextranases using ....In vitro evolution of more thermostable dextranases for the Australian sugar industry. Dextrans are polysaccharides that adversely affect the productivity of sugarcane mills. The Australian sugar industry currently imports dextranases to deal with this problem but they are not heat stable so the mills have run at lower temperatures than optimal. We have isolated dextranases from thermophilic microorganisms and aim to improve their performance by generating superior heat-stable dextranases using in vitro evolution, creating new activity levels by random mutation and recombination. The research will be significant in providing novel enzymes for domestic use, allowing import substitution and an outcome will be the development of a product with export potential.
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Development of symbiont based approaches to pest and disease control in sugarcane. This project aims to develop a new approach to the control of insect damage to sugarcane in Australia. It focuses on the manipulation of bacteria that are intimately associated with insects that feed on sugarcane, so as to decrease their ability to cause crop damage both directly through feeding and indirectly through the transmission of disease