PhD Project 6
Untapped potential of actinobacteria from aquatic environments as a source of novel bioactive compounds
Elaine Mundo Romines
I am currently a PhD student at the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Poland. I obtained my Master of Science degree in Microbiology from the University of the Philippines in 2022. My research interests and experiences revolve around the exploration of the biosynthetic potential of marine actinomycetes, cyanobacteria, and sponges using multi-OMICs strategies. In this project, my role entails the establishment and characterization of a culture collection of marine actinomycetes. Selected isolates will be screened for bioactive properties and their genomes sequenced and explored for natural product biosynthetic gene clusters (NP-BGCs). Furthermore, promising novel bioactive compounds from these isolates will be extracted for structure elucidation. Additionally, shotgun metagenomics of the marine sediment samples will be analyzed to determine the microbial composition and overall biosynthetic potential of these aquatic environments.
Untapped potential of actinobacteria from aquatic environments as a source of novel bioactive compounds
The discovery of unique bioactive compounds is related to research on the taxonomic diversity of actinomycetes isolated from untapped environments. Novel actinobacteria are a source of chemical diversity resulting from their high adaptability to harsh environments.
The main objectives of the research project are as follows:
1) Isolation of actinobacteria from aquatic sediments and their dereplication.
2) Screening of established collection of actinobacterial strains for novel taxa with antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, including clinical isolates, and against pathogenic fungi of human and plants (selection of isolates for screening program for bioactive compounds).
3) Genome-mining for identification of natural product-biosynthetic gene clusters (NP-BGCs).
4) Cultivation of actinobacteria and their co-cultivation with other microorganisms to induce synthesis of bioactive compound.
5) The detection of chemical novelty using appropriate analytical chemical procedures (dereplication) and structural analyses of interesting compounds.
Supervisor: Patrycja Golińska
Host institution: Nicolaus Copernicus University
