Gene research to boost efficacy probiotics

The scientists will use bioinformatics, a way of
converting complex biological data such as DNA into practical knowledge using
complicated mathematical models and statistics, to analyse the
bacteria.

Bioinformatics
Martin Pedersen, group leader of the genomics team
for Chr Hansen, said that involvement in this project gives the company access
to state-of-the-art bioinformatics methods, and it is hope that even more
advanced methods will be developed within the four-year duration of the project.

Henning Christiansen, professor of computer science at Roskilde University,
Denmark, said that the bioinformatics programme would make it easier to crack
the DNA code of lactic acid bacteria by “combining statistics and logic
programming in a new and more flexible way with greater potential than
before”.

During the project, Chr. Hansen and Roskilde University will
also work in conjunction with the bioinformatics software company CLC bio and
researchers in Aalborg and Copenhagen in Denmark, and Tokyo in Japan. The
project has a total budget of DKK 10 million (€1.34 million) of which DKK 5
million (€0.67 million) will be provided by the Danish Strategic Research
Council.

Related websites:
Chr. Hansen  
Roskilde
University

Related folders:
Weblog – Bright future
for bacteria
Dossier AllAbout Probiotics