scholarly journals Untapped Resources: Biotechnological Potential of Peptides and Secondary Metabolites in Archaea

Archaea ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
James C. Charlesworth ◽  
Brendan P. Burns
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Metabolites ◽  
Small Molecules ◽  
Food Industry ◽  
Extreme Environments ◽  
Cell Communication ◽  
Biotechnological Applications ◽  
Small Peptide ◽  
Biotechnological Potential ◽  
Homoserine Lactones ◽  
Wide Range

Archaea are an understudied domain of life often found in “extreme” environments in terms of temperature, salinity, and a range of other factors. Archaeal proteins, such as a wide range of enzymes, have adapted to function under these extreme conditions, providing biotechnology with interesting activities to exploit. In addition to producing structural and enzymatic proteins, archaea also produce a range of small peptide molecules (such as archaeocins) and other novel secondary metabolites such as those putatively involved in cell communication (acyl homoserine lactones), which can be exploited for biotechnological purposes. Due to the wide array of metabolites produced there is a great deal of biotechnological potential from antimicrobials such as diketopiperazines and archaeocins, as well as roles in the cosmetics and food industry. In this review we will discuss the diversity of small molecules, both peptide and nonpeptide, produced by archaea and their potential biotechnological applications.

scholarly journals Biodiversity of Secondary Metabolites Compounds Isolated from Phylum Actinobacteria and Its Therapeutic Applications

Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (15) ◽  
pp. 4504
Author(s):  
Muhanna Al-shaibani ◽  
Radin Maya Saphira Radin Mohamed ◽  
Nik Sidik ◽  
Hesham Enshasy ◽  
Adel Al-Gheethi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Metabolites ◽  
Bioactive Compounds ◽  
Extreme Environments ◽  
Software Tool ◽  
Gene Clusters ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Bioactive Substances ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Potential Applications

The current review aims to summarise the biodiversity and biosynthesis of novel secondary metabolites compounds, of the phylum Actinobacteria and the diverse range of secondary metabolites produced that vary depending on its ecological environments they inhabit. Actinobacteria creates a wide range of bioactive substances that can be of great value to public health and the pharmaceutical industry. The literature analysis process for this review was conducted using the VOSviewer software tool to visualise the bibliometric networks of the most relevant databases from the Scopus database in the period between 2010 and 22 March 2021. Screening and exploring the available literature relating to the extreme environments and ecosystems that Actinobacteria inhabit aims to identify new strains of this major microorganism class, producing unique novel bioactive compounds. The knowledge gained from these studies is intended to encourage scientists in the natural product discovery field to identify and characterise novel strains containing various bioactive gene clusters with potential clinical applications. It is evident that Actinobacteria adapted to survive in extreme environments represent an important source of a wide range of bioactive compounds. Actinobacteria have a large number of secondary metabolite biosynthetic gene clusters. They can synthesise thousands of subordinate metabolites with different biological actions such as anti-bacterial, anti-parasitic, anti-fungal, anti-virus, anti-cancer and growth-promoting compounds. These are highly significant economically due to their potential applications in the food, nutrition and health industries and thus support our communities’ well-being.

scholarly journals Low-Temperature Biosurfactants from Polar Microbes

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (8) ◽  
pp. 1183
Author(s):  
Benjamin Trudgeon ◽  
Markus Dieser ◽  
Narayanaganesh Balasubramanian ◽  
Mitch Messmer ◽  
Christine M. Foreman
Keyword(s):  
Low Temperature ◽  
Petroleum Hydrocarbons ◽  
Sodium Dodecyl ◽  
Extreme Environments ◽  
Industrial Applications ◽  
Index Test ◽  
Biotechnological Potential ◽  
Cold Environments ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Harsh Conditions

Surfactants, both synthetic and natural, are used in a wide range of industrial applications, including the degradation of petroleum hydrocarbons. Organisms from extreme environments are well-adapted to the harsh conditions and represent an exciting avenue of discovery of naturally occurring biosurfactants, yet microorganisms from cold environments have been largely overlooked for their biotechnological potential as biosurfactant producers. In this study, four cold-adapted bacterial isolates from Antarctica are investigated for their ability to produce biosurfactants. Here we report on the physical properties and chemical structure of biosurfactants from the genera Janthinobacterium, Psychrobacter, and Serratia. These organisms were able to grow on diesel, motor oil, and crude oil at 4 °C. Putative identification showed the presence of sophorolipids and rhamnolipids. Emulsion index test (E24) activity ranged from 36.4–66.7%. Oil displacement tests were comparable to 0.1–1.0% sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) solutions. Data presented herein are the first report of organisms of the genus Janthinobacterium to produce biosurfactants and their metabolic capabilities to degrade diverse petroleum hydrocarbons. The organisms’ ability to produce biosurfactants and grow on different hydrocarbons as their sole carbon and energy source at low temperatures (4 °C) makes them suitable candidates for the exploration of hydrocarbon bioremediation in low-temperature environments.

scholarly journals Untapped Potential of Marine-Associated Cladosporium Species: An Overview on Secondary Metabolites, Biotechnological Relevance, and Biological Activities

Marine Drugs ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (11) ◽  
pp. 645
Author(s):  
Gamal A. Mohamed ◽  
Sabrin R. M. Ibrahim
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Metabolites ◽  
Biological Activities ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
Biotechnological Applications ◽  
Tetramic Acid ◽  
Biotechnological Potential ◽  
Marine Habitats ◽  
Current Review ◽  
Reported Data ◽  
Industrial Relevance

The marine environment is an underexplored treasure that hosts huge biodiversity of microorganisms. Marine-derived fungi are a rich source of novel metabolites with unique structural features, bioactivities, and biotechnological applications. Marine-associated Cladosporium species have attracted considerable interest because of their ability to produce a wide array of metabolites, including alkaloids, macrolides, diketopiperazines, pyrones, tetralones, sterols, phenolics, terpenes, lactones, and tetramic acid derivatives that possess versatile bioactivities. Moreover, they produce diverse enzymes with biotechnological and industrial relevance. This review gives an overview on the Cladosporium species derived from marine habitats, including their metabolites and bioactivities, as well as the industrial and biotechnological potential of these species. In the current review, 286 compounds have been listed based on the reported data from 1998 until July 2021. Moreover, more than 175 references have been cited.

The biology and potential biotechnological applications of Bacillus safensis

Biologia ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 70 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Agbaje Lateef ◽  
Isiaka Adedayo Adelere ◽  
Evariste Bosco Gueguim-Kana
Keyword(s):  
Bacillus Pumilus ◽  
Extreme Environments ◽  
Biotechnological Applications ◽  
Ionization Time ◽  
Bacillus Safensis ◽  
Flight Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Plant Growth Promoting ◽  
Growth Promoting ◽  
Genotypic Characteristics

AbstractBacillus safensis colonizes a wide range of habitats, many of which are stringent for the survival of some microorganisms. Its survival in extreme environments relies on its unique physiological and genotypic characteristics. It was originally identified as a recalcitrant contaminant in a spacecraft-assembly facility (SAF) at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, USA, from which it derived its specific epithet, safensis. The bacterium belongs to the Bacillus pumilus group, and is closely related to Bacillus pumilus, Bacillus altitudinis, Bacillus xiamenensis and Bacillus invictae. At times, B. safensis has been erroneously identified as B. pumilus, especially when extensive molecular analyses and some mass spectroscopic methods, such as matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS), are not considered. B. safensis possesses some plant growth-promoting traits and also has promising biotechnological applications due to its ability to produce various industrial enzymes and industrially applicable secondary metabolites. It may be regarded as a safe industrial microorganism because its pathogenicity has never been evidenced. This review attempts to chronicles the biology of B. safensis and its exploit as a potential industrially important bacterium. The ecology, physiology, genetics, and biotechnological applications of B. safensis are hereby presented in this review. This represents the first compendium of information on its attributes and applications that may be useful in opening a new vista of research on the bacterium.

scholarly journals Anacardium Plants: Chemical,Nutritional Composition and Biotechnological Applications

Biomolecules ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 465 ◽  
Author(s):  
Salehi ◽  
Gültekin-Özgüven ◽  
Kırkın ◽  
Özçelik ◽  
Morais-Braga ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Metabolites ◽  
Food Industry ◽  
Nutritional Composition ◽  
Anacardium Occidentale ◽  
Biotechnological Applications ◽  
Tropical Regions ◽  
Antimicrobial Effects ◽  
Interesting Approach ◽  
Food Applications ◽  
Cashew Tree

Anacardium plants are native to the American tropical regions, and Anacardium occidentale L. (cashew tree) is the most recognized species of the genus. These species contain rich secondary metabolites in their leaf and shoot powder, fruits and other parts that have shown diverse applications. This review describes the habitat and cultivation of Anacardium species, phytochemical and nutritional composition, and their industrial food applications. Besides, we also discuss the secondary metabolites present in Anacardium plants which display great antioxidant and antimicrobial effects. These make the use of Anacardium species in the food industry an interesting approach to the development of green foods.

scholarly journals Shallow Hydrothermal Vent Bacteria and Their Secondary Metabolites with a Particular Focus on Bacillus

Marine Drugs ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (12) ◽  
pp. 681
Author(s):  
Revathi Gurunathan ◽  
Arthur James Rathinam ◽  
Jiang-Shiou Hwang ◽  
Hans-Uwe Dahms
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Metabolites ◽  
Hydrothermal Vent ◽  
Bacterial Species ◽  
Extreme Environments ◽  
Culture Conditions ◽  
Biotechnological Potential ◽  
Sequencing Method ◽  
History Of ◽  
Extremophilic Microorganisms ◽  
Specific Culture

Extreme environments are hostile for most organisms, but such habitats represent suitable settings to be inhabited by specialized microorganisms. A marine shallow-water hydrothermal vent field is located offshore in northeast Taiwan, near the shallow shore of the southeast of Kueishantao Island (121°55′ E, 24°50′ N). Research on extremophilic microorganisms makes use of the biotechnological potential associated with such microorganisms and their cellular products. With the notion that extremophiles are capable of surviving in extreme environments, it is assumed that their metabolites are adapted to function optimally under such conditions. As extremophiles, they need specific culture conditions, and only a fraction of species from the original samples are recovered in culture. We used different non-selective and selective media to isolate bacterial species associated with the hydrothermal vent crab Xenograpsus testudinatus and the sediments of its habitat. The highest number of colonies was obtained from Zobell marine agar plates with an overall number of 29 genetically distinct isolates. 16sRNA gene sequencing using the Sanger sequencing method revealed that most of the bacterial species belonged to the phylum Firmicutes and the class Bacilli. The present study indicates that hydrothermal vent bacteria and their secondary metabolites may play an important role for the reconstruction of the evolutionary history of the phylum Procaryota.

scholarly journals Involvement of a Quorum Sensing Signal Molecule in the Extracellular Amylase Activity of the Thermophilic Anoxybacillus amylolyticus

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 819
Author(s):  
Annabella Tramice ◽  
Adele Cutignano ◽  
Annalaura Iodice ◽  
Annarita Poli ◽  
Ilaria Finore ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quorum Sensing ◽  
Small Molecules ◽  
Amylase Activity ◽  
Cell Communication ◽  
Homoserine Lactone ◽  
Signal Molecule ◽  
Thermophilic Microorganism ◽  
Thermophilic Microorganisms ◽  
Homoserine Lactones ◽  
And Diffusion

Anoxybacillus amylolyticus is a moderate thermophilic microorganism producing an exopolysaccharide and an extracellular α-amylase able to hydrolyze starch. The synthesis of several biomolecules is often regulated by a quorum sensing (QS) mechanism, a chemical cell-to-cell communication based on the production and diffusion of small molecules named “autoinducers”, most of which belonging to the N-acyl homoserine lactones’ (AHLs) family. There are few reports about this mechanism in extremophiles, in particular thermophiles. Here, we report the identification of a signal molecule, the N-butanoyl-homoserine lactone (C4-HSL), from the milieu of A. amylolyticus. Moreover, investigations performed by supplementing a known QS inhibitor, trans-cinnamaldehyde, or exogenous C4-HSL in the growth medium of A. amylolyticus suggested the involvement of QS signaling in the modulation of extracellular α-amylase activity. The data showed that the presence of the QS inhibitor trans-cinnamaldehyde in the medium decreased amylolytic activity, which, conversely, was increased by the effect of exogenous C4-HSL. Overall, these results represent the first evidence of the production of AHLs in thermophilic microorganisms, which could be responsible for a communication system regulating thermostable α-amylase activity.

Gap junctions in the prothoracic glands of the tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta

1992 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 706-707
Author(s):  
Ji-da Dai ◽  
M. Joseph Costello ◽  
Lawrence I. Gilbert
Keyword(s):  
Gap Junctions ◽  
Small Molecules ◽  
Manduca Sexta ◽  
Freeze Fracture ◽  
Cell Communication ◽  
Cellular Level ◽  
Thin Sections ◽  
Prothoracic Glands ◽  
Polyhydroxylated Steroids ◽  
Stimulation Of

Insect molting and metamorphosis are elicited by a class of polyhydroxylated steroids, ecdysteroids, that originate in the prothoracic glands (PGs). Prothoracicotropic hormone stimulation of steroidogenesis by the PGs at the cellular level involves both calcium and cAMP. Cell-to-cell communication mediated by gap junctions may play a key role in regulating signal transduction by controlling the transmission of small molecules and ions between adjacent cells. This is the first report of gap junctions in the PGs, the evidence obtained by means of SEM, thin sections and freeze-fracture replicas.

Understanding Conformational Entropy in Small Molecules

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucian Chan ◽  
Garrett Morris ◽  
Geoffrey Hutchison
Keyword(s):  
Small Molecules ◽  
Degrees Of Freedom ◽  
Absolute Error ◽  
Low Energy ◽  
Standard Entropy ◽  
Free Energies ◽  
Conformational Entropy ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Empirical Corrections

The calculation of the entropy of flexible molecules can be challenging, since the number of possible conformers grows exponentially with molecule size and many low-energy conformers may be thermally accessible. Different methods have been proposed to approximate the contribution of conformational entropy to the molecular standard entropy, including performing thermochemistry calculations with all possible stable conformations, and developing empirical corrections from experimental data. We have performed conformer sampling on over 120,000 small molecules generating some 12 million conformers, to develop models to predict conformational entropy across a wide range of molecules. Using insight into the nature of conformational disorder, our cross-validated physically-motivated statistical model can outperform common machine learning and deep learning methods, with a mean absolute error ≈4.8 J/mol•K, or under 0.4 kcal/mol at 300 K. Beyond predicting molecular entropies and free energies, the model implies a high degree of correlation between torsions in most molecules, often as- sumed to be independent. While individual dihedral rotations may have low energetic barriers, the shape and chemical functionality of most molecules necessarily correlate their torsional degrees of freedom, and hence restrict the number of low-energy conformations immensely. Our simple models capture these correlations, and advance our understanding of small molecule conformational entropy.

Antimicrobial Peptides - Small but Mighty Weapons for Plants to Fight Phytopathogens

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (10) ◽  
pp. 720-742 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaushik Das ◽  
Karabi Datta ◽  
Subhasis Karmakar ◽  
Swapan K. Datta
Keyword(s):  
Antimicrobial Peptides ◽  
Durable Resistance ◽  
Defense Responses ◽  
Defense System ◽  
Biotechnological Potential ◽  
Functional Aspects ◽  
Low Concentrations ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Vital Component ◽  
Pathogen Entry

Antimicrobial Peptides (AMPs) have diverse structures, varied modes of actions, and can inhibit the growth of a wide range of pathogens at low concentrations. Plants are constantly under attack by a wide range of phytopathogens causing massive yield losses worldwide. To combat these pathogens, nature has armed plants with a battery of defense responses including Antimicrobial Peptides (AMPs). These peptides form a vital component of the two-tier plant defense system. They are constitutively expressed as part of the pre-existing first line of defense against pathogen entry. When a pathogen overcomes this barrier, it faces the inducible defense system, which responds to specific molecular or effector patterns by launching an arsenal of defense responses including the production of AMPs. This review emphasizes the structural and functional aspects of different plant-derived AMPs, their homology with AMPs from other organisms, and how their biotechnological potential could generate durable resistance in a wide range of crops against different classes of phytopathogens in an environmentally friendly way without phenotypic cost.

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