Unconventional approaches to search for bioactive microbial natural products

• Grant number: 11/12910-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate (Direct)
• Start date: October 01, 2011
• End date: December 31, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Biochemistry - Biochemistry of Microorganisms
• Principal Investigator: Mônica Tallarico Pupo
• Grantee: Rita de Cássia Pessotti
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas de Ribeirão Preto (FCFRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This project aims to use two unconventional approaches to obtain microbial natural products, especially bioactive ones: metagenomics and interespecific interactions. This proposal contemplates one of the main prerequisites for discovering new natural products, which involves the prospection of new biodiversity sources, which are often associated to new chemical/biological diversity. By using metagenomics, this project aims to explore soil microorganisms that are difficult to cultivate, which represents about 99% of the terrestrial microbiota. Metagenomic libraries from soil that belong to Laboratory of Microorganisms Chemistry of FCFRP-USP will be screened by fenotipic assay and antiparasitic assay against Leishmania major. By using interespecific interactions, it is expected that this approach will stimulate the biosynthesis of compounds that are coded in silent or underexpressed gene clusters in pure culture. Endophytic and soil actinobacteria will be cultured in pairs to allow interactions between different strains, and the search for promising pairs will be performed using yeast, gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria as bioactivity indicators to look for pairs that stimulate new bioactivities. After performing these screenings, the most promising interaction will be selected to characterize the bioactive compound and the compound that induces this new bioactivity, in order to try to describe the observed phenomenon. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

CHAGAS, FERNANDA O.; RUZZINI, ANTONIO C.; BACHA, V, LARISSA; SAMBORSKYY, MARKYIAN; CONTI, RAPHAEL; PESSOTTI, RITA C.; DE OLIVEIRA, LUCIANA G.; CLARDY, JON; PUPO, MONICA T.. Genome Sequence of Streptomyces sp. Strain RTd22, an Endophyte of the Mexican Sunflower. MICROBIOLOGY RESOURCE ANNOUNCEMENTS, v. 4, n. 4, JUL-AUG 2016. (13/07600-3, 08/09540-0, 13/50954-0, 09/17695-6, 08/00812-7, 11/06209-3, 11/12910-6, 11/11703-7)

CHAGAS, FERNANDA OLIVEIRA; PESSOTTI, RITA DE CASSIA; CARABALLO-RODRIGUEZ, ANDRES MAURICIO; PUPO, MONICA TALLARICO. Chemical signaling involved in plant-microbe interactions. CHEMICAL SOCIETY REVIEWS, v. 47, n. 5, p. 1652-1704, MAR 7 2018. (11/12910-6, 08/09540-0, 13/07600-3, 13/50954-0, 12/21803-1)

CHAGAS, FERNANDA O.; RUZZINI, ANTONIO C.; BACHA, LARISSA, V; SAMBORSKYY, MARKYIAN; CONTI, RAPHAEL; PESSOTTI, RITA C.; DE OLIVEIRA, LUCIANA G.; CLARDY, JON; PUPO, MONICA T.. Genome Sequence of Streptomyces sp. Strain RTd22, an Endophyte of the Mexican Sunflower. GENOME ANNOUNCEMENTS, v. 4, n. 4, p. 2-pg., 2016-07-01. (13/07600-3, 13/50954-0, 11/06209-3, 08/09540-0, 11/12910-6, 11/11703-7, 09/17695-6, 08/00812-7)

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

PESSOTTI, Rita de Cássia. Chemical-biological study of microbial secondary metabolism. 2016. Doctoral Thesis - Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas de Ribeirão Preto (PCARP/BC) Ribeirão Preto.