Genome based bioprospection of bacteria isolated from marine sponges from the Sao Paulo coastal area

• Grant number: 23/09004-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: April 01, 2024
• End date: May 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Microbiology - Applied Microbiology
• Principal Investigator: Gustavo Bueno Gregoracci
• Grantee: Bianca Acayaba dos Santos
• Host Institution: Instituto do Mar (IMar). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus Baixada Santista. Santos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Sponges are a sessile group of organisms which are vulnerable to different environmental stimuli, and consequently, employ secondary (or special) metabolites as an environmental chemical response, which are commonly produced by the symbiont microbiota of these animals. The Blue Amazon, as the maritime Brazilian Exclusive Economic Zone is referred, presents a valuable and yet poorly explored setting for bioprospection. Within this context, this project aims to genomically characterize microbes isolated from marine sponges, specifically Aplysina fulva and Aplysina caissara, the latter a Brazilian endemic species. Genome mining allows mapping the whole genome, gene groupings and selection of noteworthy genes, metabolite structural prediction and evolutive tracking of isolates, with special attention to biosinthetic genes which are often silenced and not expressed in laboratory settings. The selected isolates presented, as previous results, presence of at least one bioactive compound gene, such as type I or II PKSs (poliketide synthases), and/or NRPSs (non ribosomal peptide synthases). They reiterate the symbiotic microbes as interesting sources for deeper bioprospection.