Isolation of polyhydroxyalkanoates producing bacteria and molecular characterization of their PHA synthase.

Author(s)

Daniela Carolina Pinto e Licio

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: São Paulo.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas (ICB/SDI)
• Defense date: 2011-09-21

Examining board members

José Gregorio Cabrera Gomez; Gabriel Padilla Maldonado; Beny Spira

• Advisor: José Gregorio Cabrera Gomez

Abstract

A total of 1520 isolates from domestic sewage sludge or soil of preserved area were evaluated in regards of PHA production using the lipophilic Nile Red A or Sudan Black B dyes, allowing the detection of 261 isolates. PHA production experiments revealed P3HB producing isolates at higher amounts than the strain Burkholderia sacchari LFM101 and PHAMCL production rates higher than those presented by the strain Pseudomonas sp. LFM046, besides 6 isolates producing P3HB and PHAMCL mixtures. The RECF1/RECR primers allowed the specific type I phaC genes detection in three P3HB producing bacteria and the P613F/P613R primers detected type I phaC genes in the polymer mixture producing isolates. A 4 kbp DNA fragment from a genomic library of the isolate RMP1058BII was detected using the P613F/P613R primers. This DNA fragment expression in a Pseudomonas strain mutated in phaC gene leaded to the production of small amounts of P3HB. (AU)