Postgraduate students from the Department of Biochemistry at Stellenbosch University performed well at the recent annual conference of the South African Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

MSc student Tiaan Swanepoel received the best presentation award in the category proteins and enzymology, while MSc students Lisa Kelbe and Simon Berge both won second place in the plants/ethnomedicine and biotechnology categories for their presentations.

Swanepoel, who works under Prof. Johann Rohwer in the systems biology research group, says the award came as a big surprise. Not only was it the first time that he presented at a conference, but also the first time attending one!

The title of his poster presentation was: "An investigation into the effects of pH on phosphoglucoseisomerase and phosphofructokinase, the first two glycolytic enzymes of Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae (yeast)"

Swanepoel explains: "Our research entails the construction of computational models, based on mathematical formulae, to explain complex biological phenomena. In other words: we build models capable of simulating cellular processes on the computer, with data collected through experimentation.

"The study of these model simulations enables the formation of novel hypotheses as well elucidation of various previously undetected enzymatic interactions computationally, thereby avoiding spending large amounts of money on doing wet-lab experiments to find out the same things. It also enables the identification of control points in biological networks, and gives us an idea of how we could then genetically engineer organisms to the benefit of society."

For his MSc, Swanepoel investigates the effects of pH on the enzymes of glycolysis (the central energy pathway) in bacteria (E. coli) and fungus (yeast).

"In this way we take both the environment (in terms of pH) and the system into account, something that has been neglected in biology thus far. People used to either look at enzymes in isolation or in systems. Until recently, the effects of pH on enzyme kinetics have been neglected," he explains.

Swanepoel, an alumnus from Jan van Riebeeck High School in Cape Town, says he hopes to present his work at an international systems biology conference in Spain next year, and after that he plans to continue with a PhD.

On the photo, Simon Berge (left) and Lisa Kelbe (on the right) receiving their prizes during the gala dinner of the South African Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.