The doctoral defense will take place at the Faculty of Food and Nutrition, University of Iceland, on Friday 8 May at 13. Hólmfríður Sveinsdóttir, a nutritionist, is defending her doctoral dissertation "Research on the variability of protein expression in cod larvae with age and as a response to environmental factors".
Opponents are Dr. Albert Imsland, Professor at the University of Bergen in Norway and Dr. Phillip Cash, Professor of Research at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. The supervisor of the project was Dr. Ágústa Guðmundsdóttir. Dr. Inga Þórsdóttir, President of the Faculty of Food and Nutrition, will chair the ceremony, which will take place in the Celebration Hall, University of Iceland.
Summary of study
Studies show that the health of fish larvae can be improved by various environmental factors such as protein digestion and supplemental bacteria. In the doctoral project, protein set analyzes were used to monitor changes in the protein set of cod larvae with increasing maturity and as a response to protein digestion and bacterial treatment. Emphasis was placed on the analysis of the digestive enzyme trypsin as well as proteins that can be linked to development and a non-specific immune response. The results of the research are presented in 5 scientific articles and one book chapter. It was found that trypsin is at a minimum at the beginning of the diet, but then it can be assumed that there is a great need for protein digestion.
There were significant changes in the amount and variability of the number of proteins in the protein set of the larvae with increasing maturity, and keratin variants showed the most age-dependent changes. The major proteins detected in small amounts in the cod larvae protein mass after treatment with additive bacteria may be associated with a non-specific immune response. The majority of the proteins detected in increased amounts after treatment of cod larvae with protein digestion can be linked to their energy economy. Two trypsin strains were found in the protein cluster of cod larvae. There was no difference in the levels of these two trypsin strains in cod larvae after their treatment with additive bacteria or protein digestion.
Main results
The results of the doctoral project are the first step in building a database for the protein set of cod larvae. They contain important information about the variability of proteins in the protein set of cod larvae with increasing maturity and in response to changes in environmental factors. The project was carried out in close collaboration with the University's Institute of Natural Sciences. Other partners were the University of Hólar, the Marine Research Institute and the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. The supervisor of the doctoral project was Dr. Ágústa Guðmundsdóttir, professor, but in addition to her, the doctoral committee included Dr. Bjarnheiður K. Guðmundsdóttir, specialist at the University of Iceland Laboratory at Keldur and adjunct professor at the Faculty of Medicine, Dr. Helgi Thorarensen, professor at Hólar University and Dr. Oddur Þ. Vilhelmsson, Associate Professor at the University of Akureyri. The sponsors of the project were the University Fund of Eimskipafélag Íslands, Rannís, the AVS Research Fund, the Research Studies Fund and the University of Iceland Research Fund.
About the doctoral dissertation
Hólmfríður Sveinsdóttir was born on February 8, 1972 in Sauðárkrókur. Hólmfríður graduated from the School of Natural Sciences at Fjölbrautarskóli Norðurlands vestra in 1993. In 1995, Hólmfríður began studying nutrition at the Justus-Liebig University in Giessen in Germany and completed a dipl. oec. troph degree in nutrition, which corresponds to a master's degree in nutrition in 2001. Hólmfríður's master's project dealt with H + -ATPase in maize plants. Hólmfríður is certified as a nutritionist.
Hólmfríður began her doctoral studies at the Faculty of Food and Nutrition at the University of Iceland in 2002. She is the daughter of the couple Sveinn Rúnar Sigfússon, a shopkeeper, and Heiðrún Friðriksdóttir, a medical secretary. Hólmfríður is married to veterinarian Stefán Friðriksson and together they have three children, Friðrik Þór, Herjólf Hrafn and Heiðrún Erla.
It can be mentioned at the end that Hólmfríður will start working for Matís in Sauðárkrókur next week. This is another example of how Matís promotes, through its activities abroad, that knowledge is reflected in the local community.