Detection and annotation of chitinases in metagenomics libraries from mangrove located in the State of São Paulo

• Grant number: 13/11263-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Effective date (Start): September 14, 2013
• Effective date (End): March 13, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology - Ecosystems Ecology
• Principal Investigator: João Lúcio de Azevedo
• Grantee: Joelma Marcon
• Supervisor: Jan Dirk van Elsas
• Host Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil
• Research place: University of Groningen, Netherlands
• Associated to the scholarship: 11/18740-5 - Detection and Characterization of Chitinases in Metagenomics Libraries from Mangrove located in the State of São Paulo, BP.PD

Abstract

DETECTION AND ANNOTATION OF CHITINASES IN METAGENOMICS LIBRARIES FROM MANGROVE LOCATED IN THE STATE OF SÃO PAULOThe Mangrove ecosystem is a costal tropical biome, located in the transition zone between land and sea, and it is characterized by periodic floods, which give unique characteristics and specific to this system. The mangroves have a lot of accumulated organic matter such as chitin from the decomposition of crustaceans. The main route of nutrient cycling of this environment is through microbial activity, through the decomposition of organic matter. Therefore, it can be said that the microbial communities present in this ecosystem are the basis of the food chain, of flora and fauna, making this highly interconnected and dependent environment. In bacteria, the quitinases play various functions, such as processing and digestion of monomers of x-(1.4) 2-acetoamido-2-Deoxy-D-glucose (or N-acetylglucosamine GlcNAc), thereby increasing the availability of nutrients for your metabolism. The objectives of this project are the study of quitinases-producing genes, as well as the search for new genes, using the metagenomics approach, providing a broader view on genomic organization and evolution of these genes. To this end, this research plan that works as part of a project has the objective detection and characterization of quitinolítica diversity of microorganisms present in mangroves in the State of São Paulo in Brazil. Initially, the screening of 12.960 clones for the activities of interest, and can be detected 1 positive clone for chitinase. After this step, the DNA extraction was performed fosmidial of this clone and sequencing of the same via ION Torrent, where was obtained approximately 1.2 million reads. As future steps in partnership with the laboratory of Dr. Jan Dirk van Elsas (Groningen-Netherlands), we will hold the Assembly of contigs and annotation of genes of interest, enabling the development of specific primers for the detection of quitinases in hostile environments. It is expected from the different microbial groups underexploited present in mangroves, the description and discovery of new genes for chitinase, with great potentiality in biotechnological processes in addition to the generation of new knowledge on the functional diversity of microbiota in mangrove environments.Key words: mangroves, chitinase, metagenomics, annotation of genes. (AU)