REGISTRATION
INFORMATION
World University Rankings - Top 600

First Inaugural Lecture in 2013 Sets the Bar High

First Inaugural Lecture in 2013 Sets the Bar High

The first inaugural lecture to take place at the Durban University of Technology in 2013 was delivered on Friday (August 2, 2013).

So successful was Professor Suren Singh’s lecture that he was hailed as a “scholar of note” and was congratulated for “setting the bar high” for upcoming inaugural lectures at the University.

“Prof Singh is a scholar of note. He has set the bar very high for these inaugural lectures. I congratulate him,” said Prof Nomthandazo Gwele, DVC: Academic after Prof Singh’s lecture.

Prof Singh, the Head of the Department of Biotechnology and Food Technology in the Faculty of Applied Sciences at DUT, delivered his lecture: ENZYMEs: The cyclic journey with a hot loving fungus at the Hotel School Conference Centre, DUT Ritson Campus. High profile guests including Prof Ahmed Bawa, DUT Vice-Chancellor and Principal; Judge Vuka Tshabalala, DUT Chancellor as well as Dr Jairam Reddy, DUT Chair of Council attended the event.

Inaugural lectures serve as official recognition of an academic’s promotion to Professorship and provide a platform where new professors at a University are showcased and celebrated.

Prof Singh has however been a Professor for a number of years. He was promoted to Professor in 2008. “I have no idea why he (Prof Singh) is doing this so late, he has been a Professor for some time now,” quipped Prof Theo Andrew, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment at DUT.

In addition to holding the first inaugural lecture at the University in 2013, Prof Singh’s lecture was the first (lecture) in three years at the University, a situation Prof Frederic Otieno, DVC: Technology and Innovation, said the University is working towards changing.

Apart from being described as an outstanding scholar, Prof Singh was also described as a perfectionist. The respected academic also participates in several marathons, including the Comrades Marathon and national cycling races where he constantly strives for success and improvement. “I believe he has received offers to leave DUT but he stayed because he has chosen DUT as a place to leave his mark,” said Prof Darren Lortan, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Applied Sciences.

Prof Bawa said inaugural lectures are extremely important to a university because at the heart of a higher learning institution, lies the concept of Professor. Upon hearing that Prof Singh had not had an inaugural lecture despite having become Professor years ago, Prof Bawa said he insisted that the academic have one.

“An inaugural lecture connects the professor to the body of the university. There’s a contract built between the professor and that body of the university. It’s an opportunity to show off someone who has been seen by peers as sufficient to be appointed as professor,” said Prof Bawa.

Prof Singh holds a BSc, BSc (Hons), MSc, PhD (Microbiology) from the then University of Durban Westville (now UKZN). He currently heads a very young and vibrant Enzyme Technology Research Group, which focuses on the production and application of thermostable enzymes important for the food, detergent, textile pulp and paper industries as well as the environment.

He assumed the position of lecturer in September 1997 at the former M.L. Sultan Technikon (now DUT) when research was still at its infancy. Within five years, he was able to establish a core research group in Industrial Biotechnology and achieved a Y2 – NRF rating in 2002 and a C1 – NRF rating in 2007 and 2013.

His research over the past 15 years has always attempted to push the boundaries, and his group has produced numerous “world firsts” with his hot loving fungus Thermomyces lanuginosus, the genome sequence being one of them.

Through his own initiatives and funding drives, he has ensured the acquisition of excellent infrastructure and equipment at DUT. To date, he has attracted over R20 million in funding from the DUT, the National Research Foundation (NRF), the Department of Science and Technology and other international and industrial sources. His recent acquisition of more than R20 million through the DoHET Infrastructure funding together with DUT to construct state-of-the-art labs for his Department demonstrates his leadership. Networking with numerous national and international scientists from Austria, Germany, Portugal, United States, Slovakia, Australia, Brazil, India, Malaysia, Sweden, China, has been his strength, and his NRF Bilateral agreements with Sweden (2006 – 2009) and China (2008 – 2014) valued at more than R1.5 million, are testimony to this.

Brief Description of the Research: ENZYMEs: The cyclic journey with a hot loving fungus

The non-cellulolytic Thermomyces lanuginosus is a widespread and frequently isolated thermophilic fungus. We have shown that this fungus have been reported to produce high levels of cellulase-free xylanase both in shake-flask and bioreactor cultivations but intraspecies variability in terms of xylanase production is apparent. Furthermore all strains produce low extracellular levels of other hemicellulases involved in hemicellulose hydrolysis. Crude and purified hemicellulases from this fungus are stable at high temperatures in the range of 50-80°C and over a broad pH range (3-12). Various strains are reported to produce a single xylanase with molecular masses varying between 23 and 29 kDa and pI values between 3.7 and 4.1. The gene encoding the T. lanuginosus xylanase has been cloned and sequenced and is shown to be a member of family 11 glycosyl hydrolases. Error prone PCR was successfully applied to improve the thermostability and pH stability of a xyn A from T. lanuginosus DSM 5826 which was functionally expressed in E. coli as a LacZ-fusion protein. Currently we have superior xylanase variants functional at 80 – 90C at pH 10 for 2h. Successful expression has been achieved with Pichia stipitus and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The crystal structure of the xylanase indicates that the enzyme consists of two ?-sheets and one a-helix and forms a rigid complex with the three central sugars of xyloheptaose whereas the peripheral sugars might assume different configurations thereby allowing branched xylan chains to be accepted. The presence of an extra disulfide bridge between the ?-strand and the a-helix, as well as to an increase in the density of charged residues throughout the xylanase might contribute to the thermostability. The ability of T. lanuginosus to produce high levels of cellulase-free thermostable xylanase has made the fungus an attractive source of thermostable xylanase with potential as a bleach-boosting agent in the pulp and paper industry and as an additive in the baking industry. Further studies on xylosidases, chitinases, phytases, lipases and other hemicellulases have been the hallmark of this project. The genome of the fungus has been sequenced confirming the presence of 225 carbohydrates. This has finally unraveled the mystery of how this fungus survives utilizing just one major enzyme.

– Sinegugu Ndlovu

Pictured: Prof Suren Singh during his inaugural lecture on Friday.

No comments