Chemical study of compounds produced by Micromonospora sp. C5.7 associated with the stingless bee Tetragona elongata.

• Grant number: 22/00636-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: March 01, 2022
• End date: February 28, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Organic Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Mônica Tallarico Pupo
• Grantee: Laira Lorraine Agostinho
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas de Ribeirão Preto (FCFRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Natural products play an important role in the discovery of bioactive compounds, helping in the process of developing new drugs. In this context, microorganisms have a remarkable contribution, since many bioactive compounds are biosynthesized by them. It is known that throughout evolution social insects have established symbiotic relationships with microorganisms, these relationships are seen as survival strategies, since social insects live in high parasitic pressures. A great example of this symbiosis is the interaction of stingless bees Tretagona elongata with the actinobacteria Micromonospora sp. C5.4. Previous data suggest that this strain produces chemical compounds that may be involved in the inhibition of some pathogens, due to its excellent activity in antagonism assays with the human pathogen Staphylococcus aureus, and with the entomopathogens Paenibacillus larvae and Beauveria bassiana. However, there is still no complete understanding of the chemical compounds that mediate this interspecific interaction. This project therefore proposes the chemical study of compounds produced by Micromonospora sp. C5.7, actinobacteria isolated from the stingless bee Tetragona elongata and comparative analysis of the metabolic profile by GNPS of Micromonospora strains (CM9, ICBG1321, SDFi4.3 and C5.7) isolated from different species of stingless bees by our research group. Furthermore, in a previously performed phylogenetic analysis, Micromonospora sp. C5.7 proved to be phylogenetically distant from the other strains already isolated in our laboratory, which contributes to its potential to present an unprecedented compound with antimicrobial activity.(AU)