On Thursday January 22nd 2026, Antoine Moenaert will defend his doctoral thesis in biology at the School of Engineering and Natural Sciences at the University of Iceland. The thesis is entitled Cell factory and cell-free conversions of brown seaweed to valuable compounds by metabolic engineering.
The doctoral defense takes place in the main building ceremonial hall of the University of Iceland and begins at 13:00
Opponents:
Dr. Oddur Þór Vilhelmsson, Professor in the Faculty of Natural Resource Sciences at the University of Akureyri.
Dr. Magnus Carlquist, Professor at Lund University, Sweden.
Principal supervisor: Dr. Guðmundur Óli Hreggviðsson, Professor in the Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of Iceland and Strategic Specialist at Matís.
Also on the doctoral committee:
Dr. Ólafur Héðinn Friðjónsson, Research Group Leader in Biotechnology at Matís, Iceland.
Dr. Eva Nordberg Karlsson, Professor at Lund University, Sweden.
Chair of the doctoral defence: Dr. Snæbjörn Pálsson, Professor and Head of the Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of Iceland.
Abstract
Brown seaweeds, which grow along the shores of Iceland, have attracted considerable interest as a raw material for the biotechnology industry, particularly in light of diminishing access to fossil fuels and the growing need for sustainable environmental solutions. Brown seaweeds are rich in sugars and have the advantage over land plants of requiring neither arable land, fresh water nor fertiliser. They also produce greater biomass in a shorter time than land plants.
The aim of this research project was to utilise brown seaweeds as a raw material for microorganisms and enzymes, and to produce valuable compounds from seaweed sugars using metabolic engineering and genetic technology.
The project was divided into four parts. (1) Thermoanaerobacterium islandicum AK17, an anaerobic thermophilic bacterium, was developed as a cell factory for ethanol production. (2) Through genetic modification, metabolic pathways were disrupted and the flow of energy and carbon directed towards ethanol production. A new, modified strain, AM6, produced ethanol efficiently (95% of the theoretical maximum) from mannitol, glucose and oligosaccharides in seaweed hydrolysate. (3) A method was developed for producing 2-Keto-3-deoxygluconate (KDG), an intermediate in the production of various valuable compounds, from alginate and laminarin sugars using thermophilic enzymes. (4) The production processes described above require the breakdown of the relevant sugars from brown seaweeds. In connection with such degradation processes, a novel enzyme (laminarinase) that breaks down beta-glucans into oligosaccharides, disaccharides and glucose was produced using genetic engineering methods and its properties investigated.
Overall, the results of the project demonstrate that through the application of metabolic engineering and genetic technology, brown seaweeds can serve as a sustainable raw material in biotechnology. In this way, the project can contribute to the implementation of methods to reduce the use of fossil fuels and thereby advance the development of the bioeconomy and a more sustainable future.
About the doctoral dissertation
Antoine Moenaert was born in Ennevelin, a small village in northern France, where he grew up with his two sisters, Cécile and Émilie. Antoine completed a master's degree in Biotechnology at the University of Marseille. After graduating, he worked for two years in Basel, Switzerland. He then moved to Iceland and began working at Matís ohf, conducting research on thermophilic microorganisms. After three years living and working at Matís, Antoine commenced doctoral studies at the University of Iceland.