Study of the genes involved in the biotransformation of terpenes for natural flavors production

• Grant number: 13/18390-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate (Direct)
• Start date: March 01, 2014
• End date: September 30, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Food Science and Technology - Food Science
• Principal Investigator: Glaucia Maria Pastore
• Grantee: Marina Gabriel Pessôa
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia de Alimentos (FEA). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The presence of flavor compounds in foods, beverages, and cosmetics has great importance, since it increases the acceptability of such products by consumers. Recently, the preference for consumption of products made from natural raw materials has increased the need of alternative ways to produce natural flavors compounds. The biotransformation of terpenes is a promising area for obtaining natural aroma compounds. Terpenes are secondary metabolites of plants, and some of them are widely distributed in nature and have low cost, being excellent starting materials for the synthesis of new compounds. Many studies have been developed in order to isolate microorganisms capable of metabolizing terpenic precursors for the production of value-added compounds, however, little is known about the genes and pathways involved in the biotransformation processes. The identification of such genes has great importance to improve the process's conditions and for the development of new promising strains in order to increase the concentration of the compounds produced. This project is an innovative line of research at the Laboratory of Bioaromas that aims to identify the genes involved in the biotransformation process, using strains obtained in previous works from this laboratory. The analysis of gene expression will be performed using RNA-seq technology, by comparing the cDNA samples of strains cultivated in the presence of terpenes with a control group where the cultivation occurs in the absence of that. This method will enable the identification of genes induced in the presence of terpenes and its nucleotide sequence, allowing the cloning of these genes in different strains for characterization and even the future development of new strains. (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)

PESSOA, MARINA GABRIEL; PAULINO, BRUNO NICOLAU; RODRIGUES MANO, MARIO CEZAR; NERI-NUMA, IRAMAIA ANGELICA; MOLINA, GUSTAVO; PASTORE, GLAUCIA MARIA. Fusarium species-a promising tool box for industrial biotechnology. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, v. 101, n. 9, p. 3493-3511, MAY 2017. (13/18390-0)

PESSOA, MARINA G.; VESPERMANN, KELE A. C.; PAULINO, BRUNO N.; BARCELOS, MAYARA C. S.; PASTORE, GLAUCIA M.; MOLINA, GUSTAVO. Newly isolated microorganisms with potential application in biotechnology. BIOTECHNOLOGY ADVANCES, v. 37, n. 2, p. 319-339, MAR-APR 2019. (13/18390-0)

Academic Publications

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

PESSÔA, Marina Gabriel. Prospecção de biocatalisadores endofíticos para produção de bioaromas. 2017. Doctoral Thesis - Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Faculdade de Engenharia de Alimentos Campinas, SP.