Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Previous Archive
27 May 2024 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Supplied
Inaugural
At the inaugural lecture of Prof Dirk Opperman were, from the left: Prof Opperman, Prof Vasu Reddy, Prof Koos Albertyn, Head of the Department of Microbiology and Biochemistry, and Prof Paul Oberholster, Dean of the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences.

Prof Dirk Opperman, a distinguished biochemist in the Department of Microbiology and Biochemistry, recently (21 May 2024) delivered his inaugural lecture on the Bloemfontein Campus of the University of the Free State (UFS).

The title of his lecture was: Exploring, Exploiting, and Evolving Life at the Atomic Level.

Prof Vasu Reddy, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Internationalisation at the UFS, welcomed guests, stating, "An inaugural lecture is a major milestone, celebrating a life’s work that culminates in the title of professor. It marks an important chapter in an academic career, with much more to be achieved in the journey of producing important knowledge.”

He believes that an event such as this highlights the university’s pride in the achievements of its academic staff and aligns with Vision 130. “The UFS is proud to host such lectures, as they are significant moments to reveal and showcase the value of excellence in our knowledge pool in research, teaching, and innovation. As a university, we strive to make a difference through groundbreaking work, particularly in addressing society's challenges,” said Prof Reddy, emphasising that this topic truly speaks to the university’s commitment to impactful work in the hard sciences.

Deciphering the unknown

The topic of the lecture captures the essence of Prof Opperman’s research. He explains that ‘exploring’ refers to the determination of the three-dimensional structures of proteins and enzymes. ‘Exploiting’ involves the use of these enzymes to convert substrates into products of value, and ‘evolving’ pertains to mutating the DNA to change the protein, giving it different functions, activities, selectivity, or specificities.

In his lecture, he remarked that if we know the structures of these proteins and enzymes, we can explore what to do with them and how to change them. According to him, there are the unknown knowns, the unknown unknowns, and the known unknowns. “We may know of specific activities and reactions by microorganisms, but we don’t know which enzyme is responsible; similarly, we can know the reactivity of an enzyme, but not necessarily their true physiological functions. I am trying to figure out all these unknowns,” he said.

In his lecture, he also raised the question of whether AI could replace experimental determination of protein structures. "No, not yet; it is only predictions," he believes, commenting that navigating the unknown unknowns is a dangerous place in science.

Establishing the field of structural biology

Prof Opperman, born and raised in the Free State, completed his undergraduate studies at the UFS. Later, in 2008, he obtained his PhD in Biochemistry from the same university. Following his doctoral studies, he conducted postdoctoral research on directed evolution under the guidance of Prof Manfred T Reetz at the Max Planck Institute for Coal Research in Germany, one of the world’s top institutions.

In 2010, he was appointed to the Department of Microbiology and Biochemistry at the UFS, where he has since established the field of structural biology, setting up the infrastructure essential for the advancement thereof. This includes equipment, techniques, and methods for determining the three-dimensional structure of proteins. “It is done using protein crystallisation and then X-ray diffraction,” he explains. Most of these X-ray diffraction experiments are then performed at particle accelerators called synchrotrons, such as Diamond Light Source (UK), which can produce intense X-rays.

His current research explores the interface of evolutionary and structure-function relationships of biocatalysts, with a particular focus on their application in green chemistry. Prof Opperman says that understanding both the structure and the function of an enzyme allows one to manipulate it to perform other functions.

Contributing to the broader goals of sustainable development

One of the projects he is working on highlights the potential for sustainable practices in waste management. Prof Opperman is currently part of a European Research Area Network Cofund partnership on Food Systems and Climate (FOSC), which focuses on developing biocatalysts for upcycling waste. An aspect of this work involves studying enzymes that degrade feathers, thereby converting feather waste into useful products such as fertiliser.

Regarding the contribution of his research to the broader goals of sustainable development and environmental protection, he says that enzymes are the base for biotechnology and the bioeconomy. “They can be sustainably produced, the reactions are environmentally friendly, and the resulting products can be classified as natural. There’s no need to use sources that are not sustainable to extract some of these molecules from,” he explains.

His significant contributions to the field are reflected in more than 50 authored and co-authored papers, some of which are published in prestigious journals such as Science, Nature Communications, and Angewandte Chemie. As an NRF B-rated researcher, his work has received funding from various local and international organisations, including industries such as Sasol and the Global Challenges Research Fund.

News Archive

Africa's Black Rhino conservation strategy must change
2017-07-10

 Description: Black Rhino Tags: conservation strategy, black rhino, Nature Scientific Reports, National Zoological Gardens of South Africa, extinction, decline in genetic diversity, Prof Antoinette Kotze, Research and Scientific Services, Dr Desire Dalton 

The black rhino is on the brink of extinction. The study that was 
published in the Nature Scientific Reports reveals that the
species has lost an astonishing 69% of its genetic variation. 
Photo: iStock

The conservation strategy of the black rhino in Africa needs to change in order to protect the species from extinction, a group of international researchers has found. The study that was published in the Nature Scientific Reports reveals that the species has lost an astonishing 69% of its genetic variation. 

South African researchers took part 

The researchers, which included local researchers from the National Zoological Gardens of South Africa (NZG), have highlighted the fact that this means the black rhino is on the brink of extinction. "We have found that there is a decline in genetic diversity, with 44 of 64 genetic lineages no longer existing," said Prof Antoinette Kotze, the Manager of Research and Scientific Services at the Zoo in Pretoria. She is also affiliate Professor in the Department of Genetics at the University of the Free State and has been involved in rhino research in South Africa since the early 2000s.  

DNA from museums and the wild 
The study compared DNA from specimens in museums around the world, which originated in the different regions of Africa, to the DNA of live wild animals. The DNA was extracted from the skin of museum specimen and from tissue and faecal samples from animals in the wild. The research used the mitochondrial genome.

"The rhino poaching ‘pandemic’
needs to be defeated, because
it puts further strain on the genetic
diversity of the black rhino.”


Ability to adapt 
Dr Desire Dalton, one of the collaborators in the paper and a senior researcher at the NZG, said the loss of genetic diversity may compromise the rhinos’ ability to adapt to climate change. The study further underlined that two distinct populations now exists on either side of the Zambezi River. Dr Dalton said these definite populations need to be managed separately in order to conserve their genetic diversity. The study found that although the data suggests that the future is bleak for the black rhinoceros, the researchers did identify populations of priority for conservation, which might offer a better chance of preventing the species from total extinction. However, it stressed that the rhino poaching ‘pandemic’ needs to be defeated, because it puts further strain on the genetic diversity of the black rhino. 

Extinct in many African countries 
The research report further said that black rhino had been hunted and poached to extinction in many parts of Africa, such as Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Sudan, and Ethiopia. These rhino are now only found in five African countries. They are Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Namibia, and South Africa, where the majority of the animals can be found. 

 

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept