HTS Omics: a platform for antibiotics discovery

• Grant number: 22/13717-0
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Innovative Research in Small Business - PIPE
• Start date: July 01, 2023
• End date: July 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Microbiology - Applied Microbiology
• Agreement: SEBRAE-SP
• Principal Investigator: Marília Bixilia Sanchez
• Grantee: Marília Bixilia Sanchez
• CNAE: Pesquisa e desenvolvimento experimental em ciências físicas e naturais
• Associated scholarship(s): 23/08570-2 - Validation of the machine learning tool as a tool for prospecting drugs discovery, BP.TT

Abstract

In recent years, a significant increase in the number of multidrug-resistant bacteria has been observed, creating an increasing need to develop new molecules capable of controlling these strains. However, the search for new molecules is an extremely laborious, high-cost, and time-consuming process, as traditional methods are based on the chemical characterization of cell extracts and subsequent fractionation, purification and identification of the molecule with antibiotic activity, without considering the genome of microbial strains in this selection process. The present proposal is a proof of concept, where it is expected to validate a pipeline of rapid characterization of new molecules with antibiotic activity, based on genomic analysis of bacterial isolates of interest. A collection of microorganisms will be used, provided by Startup, which will be taxonomically identified and later, isolates of interest will have their genome sequenced and their metabolome characterized. This chemical analysis, carried out by the partner, will be important to allow a correlation analysis between the chemical profile and the presence of biosynthetic clusters, allowing by machine learning to establish an algorithm for the selection of isolates, potentially producing new antibiotics, through the analysis of biosynthetic clusters. Thus, at the end of this validation process, it is expected that a pipeline of characterization and selection of microorganisms producing new antibiotics will be validated, which should be used by the partner company for the prospection of new antibiotics from microorganisms environmental. In addition, a collection of microorganisms capable of producing compounds with inhibitory activity on the growth of multiresistant bacteria (KPC, MRSA and VRE) will be better characterized. (AU)