0000000000021373
AUTHOR
R. Fani
Multi-omics of Pseudoalteromonas haloplanktis TAC125: a quest for antimicrobial metabolic pathways
Backgrounds The Antarctic strain Pseudoalteromonas haloplanktis TAC125 is one of the model organisms of cold-adapted bacteria and is currently exploited as a new alternative expression host for numerous biotechnological applications. Interestingly, this bacterium has been reported to be able to inhibit the growth of Burkholderia cepacia complex (Bcc) strains, opportunistic pathogens responsible for the infection of immune-compromised patients. Most likely, this occurs through the synthesis of several different compounds, including Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), whose nature and characteristics are currently mostly unknown. Objectives To obtain a complete picture of cellular processes di…
Endophytes from Phragmites australis: their role in phytodepuration
Wastewater treatment is an alarming question and phytodepuration represents an efficient and cost-effective solution. Phragmites australis is generally used for phytodepuration and it excellently removes arsenic, iron and nickel from polluted water. The purification potential of its bacterial endophytic community has never been explored though. G.I.D.A. S.p.a uses P. australis for phytoremediation in a pilot plant, at Calice purifier, which treats the effluent from the Membrane Bioreactor plant. Endophytic bacterial strains were isolated from different P. australis compartments sampled before the activation of the Calice purifier and four additional times during a 18-months period, to analy…
Endophytes from medicinal plants’ seeds: exploring new reservoirs of bioactive molecules
Plant-associated microorganisms have recently gained more attention for their influence on plant health and biotechnological relevance. Bioactive molecules have been already isolated from plant-associated bacteria. Seed-borne bacterial endophytes have not been much explored though. Such endophytes are particularly important, since they can influence germination and be transmitted from generation to generation. Interestingly, seed endophytes from medicinal plants could influence the production of molecules with therapeutic properties. Bacterial endophytic strains were extracted from surface-sterilized seeds of the medicinal plant Echinacea purpurea and their 16S rRNA genes were sequenced. Th…
Compartmentalization of biosynthetic enzymes in bacterial cells: the histidine metabolic pathway case
Introduction: It is known that the inner concentration of proteins within the cell cytoplasm is so high that limits the diffusion of enzymes and metabolic intermediates, leading to a loss of time and energy. Therefore, the organization of genes in operons would have enabled to have enzymes involved in the same metabolic pathway physically close to each other. A corollary to this hypothesis in the possibility of physical interactions between the enzymes of the same metabolic pathway, resulting in the formation of a supramolecular complex capable in channeling the intermediates from one enzyme to a physical adjacent one, with restricted diffusion in the surrounding milieu. Objectives: The aim…