Chemical profile study of the extracts of endosymbiotic bacteria of the Diabrotica speciosa

• Grant number: 12/11704-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Effective date (Start): August 01, 2012
• Effective date (End): December 31, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Organic Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Moacir Rossi Forim
• Grantee: Gustavo Mitsunori Aoyagi
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Exatas e de Tecnologia (CCET). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The central aim of this plan of the work of the scientific initiation student is to study the chemical profile of the extract of endosymbiotic bacteria of Diabrotica speciosa. This plan of the work is a derived subproject from the main project which comes investigating the possibilities of population control of plague insects, for example, D. speciosa, through the biological inhibition actions on associate microorganisms at this insect, by using natural products. The metabolomic knowledge of these bacteria which are in the gastrointestinal tract of D. speciosa, it will allow identifying new molecules which have future potential for unfoldings in many different studies of biological activity. An important point in this project is the interaction studies among plant- plague insects and microorganisms. The insects are the organisms of the biggest success on the Earth, in part, because of their capacity the feeding several diet varieties. Many of these diets show nutritional deficiencies which may be supplied by microorganisms. With this in mind, this project intends to collaborate in a multidisciplinary initiative to join the chemistry, chemical ecology, natural products, and microbiology in a joint action for the understanding of the interactions among plant- plague insect and plague insect-endosymbiotic microorganisms. For example, the microbial flora, which lives in the digestive tract of a plague insect, through enzymatic processes or metabolic molecules, may influence in the decision the choice of the plague insect for a determined type of food. On the other hand, the vegetal material (food) may produce defensive metabolites modifying the feed preference of the insect or destroying the microbial endosymbiotic flora. The student will develop abilities in carrying out classical chemical studies preparing extracts, fractions, and characterization of secondary metabolites, as well as collaborating with microbiological studies through the isolation of microorganisms and developing new assay protocols for microbial inhibition. In addition that the student will interact with entomological groups carrying out larvicidal and insecticidal activity studies.(AU)