About the Project
Fully-funded PhD opportunity suitable for a UK/EU graduate in Biosciences, Pharmacy or Chemistry. To express an interest please contact Dr. David Gray, Food Sciences, School of Biosciences, Sutton Bonington Campus +44 (0)115 9516147, [Email Address Removed] or Dr Frédéric Beaudoin, Rothamsted Research, +44 (0)1582 938129, [Email Address Removed]
Oil in oilseeds is stored in sub-micron sized organelles called ‘oleosomes’ consisting of a triglyceride core, rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids, phytosterols and lipophilic vitamins (e.g. tocopherols), surrounded by a layer of proteins (mostly oleosins) and phospholipids (lecithins). We have developed a technique to recover intact oleosomes and they are being tested for use in a range of industrial applications. An exciting development of this concept would be to be able to dismantle oleosomes to separate the oil from the surface-active material (an oleosome ghost composed of phospholipids, oleosins, and phytonutrients). In theory, this process would yield a clean oil that needs little refining (more sustainable than conventional processing of oilseeds), and a natural, surface active material that would (depending on its composition and functional properties) be welcomed by the food industry as a clean label ingredient in a sector saturated with lecithin from soya (GM concern) and processed PGPR.
The successful student will work at Rothamsted Research (Harpenden, Hertfordshire), The School of Biosciences/Food Sciences (Sutton Bonington Campus) and at The School of Chemistry/Green Chemistry (University Park Campus) at the University of Nottingham. In addition to gaining knowledge into the UK major oilseed crop (oilseed rape) The student will gain skills in a range of biochemical, chemical and physical analytical techniques:
Part I
• Handling of oilseed rape cultivars and seed stocks pre and post-harvest
• Oleosome extraction and purification via wet-milling and centrifugation
• Biochemical characterisation of oleosomes
Lipid Extraction and GC-MS / ESI-MS/MS profiling of complex lipids
HPLC / GC-MS analysis of bioactive phytochemicals: phytosterols and fat-soluble vitamins (E, tocopherols, pro vitamin A, -carotene, lutein etc.)
Proteomics
Part II
• Testing a range of physical methods to dismantle oleosomes
• Measure quality of separated oil (at Industrial Partner’s Technical Centre)
• Characterise the separated surface material: composition (lipidomics and proteomics), and functional properties (surface tension measurements, loading capacity and emulsion stability measurements)
• Analyse the specific distribution of the different types and forms (free vs esterified) of bioactive compounds in the separated fractions; i.e. oil and oleosome ghosts (envelop) using the techniques described in part I.
• Test B napus cultivars with different sterols and tocopherol contents and compositions to see how it affects structural and bioactive properties of OB ghosts.
To submit an application, please visit https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/bbdtp/npif-studentships/national-productivity-investment-fund.aspx.
For further information please email ([Email Address Removed]). The closing date for applications is 29th September 2017, to start in November 2017.
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