By applying industrial proces at large scale, Lek/Sandoz is producing FK506 (tacrolimus) commercialy. FK506 is important an immunosuppressive drug used mainly after allogeneic organ transplant to lower the risk of organ rejection. This is granted patent in the USA, based on patent application (WO 2011/004008 A1, EP2451955 A1), which was submitted in 2011 by researchers from Sandoz and Acies Bio . Patent is protecting the use of complex enzymatic system encoding biosynthesis of unusual extender units allylmalonyl-CoA and ethylmalonyl-CoA. Inventors have demonstrated that by manipulation of this enzymatic system, it is possible to improve biosynthetic process for FK506 production, particularly lowering presence of FK506-structure related impurities. The presence of undesired impurities is significantly increasing cost of the downstream processes. Thus, this discovery has high industrial value.
F.06 Development of a new product
COBISS.SI-ID: 4523896In the patent application is disclosed commercial technology for co-cultivation of yeast and propionic acid bacteria for production of vitamin B12 based on the milk whey as medium (COBISS.SI-ID 4588152). Milk whey is a side product in milk industry with very high COD value, thus bringing significant environmental burden. New technology thus significantly reduce COD value while producing high-value product vitamin B12. For this project, Acies Bio has received EU project SME Instrument in the value of 1,8mil Euros (WHEY2VALUE - GRANT
F.13 Development of new production methods and tools or processes
COBISS.SI-ID: 4588152Prof. Mandić-Mulec has been invited to lecture at the Public Research Institute at the International Center of Public Health, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, The State University of New Jersey, Newark, USA about her results on kin discrimination and mechanisms that prevent spread of cheating mutants and stabilize cooperative behavior in bacterial populations. She was also invited in 2015 by the Institute of Computational Biology, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Nemčija to give a lecture entitled "Social games and quorum sensing of Bacillus subtilis [COBISS.SI-ID 4545400]. Finally she was among 100 scientists from all over the world chosen to lecture at the 1st ASM conference on »Mechanisms of Inter-bacterial Cooperation and Competition« in Washington, which was a big honor [COBISS.SIID 4519288). Finally, she was a speaker at the international conference on Bacterial genetics and ecology (BAGECO 13) in Milan, where she lectured on how horizontal gene transfer shapes the social game between honest and eavesdroppers in constructed communities of Bacillus subtilis [COBISS.SI-ID 4549752] .
B.04 Guest lecture
COBISS.SI-ID: 4522360Prof. S. Smole Možina has been involved in preparation and in the recent years also in realization of the M.Sc. Programme Safety in the Food Chain, MSc programme of Euroleague for Life Sciences, and BF, Ljubljana. 25-hours course is given at BOKU (Universität für Bodenkultur), Vienna in the frame of one of the obligatory study modules.
B.05 Guest lecturer at an institute/university
COBISS.SI-ID: 4547448In the doctoral thesis of Jasna Kovač, which was supervised by prof. S. Smole MOžina, epidemiological characteristics of antibiotic resistance in Campylobacter jejuni were studied in Slovenia and wider central European region. Significant underreporting of Campylobacter spp. prevalence was confirmed and strong correlation between antibiotic resistance and certain Campylobacter jejuni genotypes were found by MLST and sequencing of QRDR region within gyrA gene responsible for ciprofloxacin resistance – clonal spreading with the most prevalent clonal complex was confirmed. To tackle the problem of bacterial resistance, natural antimicrobials, efflux inhibitors and plant resistance modulators were studied α-alpha-pinene was confirmed as the most efficient due to bacterial efflux inhibition and enhanced permeability of the membrane. These important scientific results were already published in co-authorship of 8 scientific publications, in a chapter of monography and several congress presentations. J. Kovač was awarded as the most successful PhD student in 2015 in doctoral program “Biosciences” at BF-UL.
D.09 Tutoring for postgraduate students
COBISS.SI-ID: 4536696