Project Details
Description
In the Lipez region of the Bolivian Altiplano, Lake Pastos Grandes is located at an altitude of 4440 m [2–5] characterized by a short water residence time comparing with other Andean lakes, while most of the lake is composed of salt flats [6–8]. The lake is fed by rivers of fresh water, springs, and hydrothermal sources, with CO2 degassing causing pH increase and carbonate precipitation, leading to regions with high temperature within lake [2, 3, 6–10]. Recent studies have reported that this lake has particular physicochemical, environmental, and biotic characteristics [3, 6, 10], and its remains one of the few lakes without anthropogenic intervention [11], highlighting its singularity and making it an exciting study area.
In our previous experiments Planococcus sp. a halotolerant bacterium isolated from the extreme environment of Lake Pastos Grandes, has demonstrated the ability to produce ectoine, a valuable compatible solute with applications in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and biotechnology. According preliminary studies this bacterium also produces extracellular biopolymers and biosurfactants [12, 13]. Those compounds are not yet characterized in our bacteria.
Given the unique environmental conditions of Lake Pastos Grandes, these biopolymers may possess novel properties with significant industrial importance. Despite its potential, this bacterium has only been identified through 16S rRNA sequencing, and its molecular mechanisms underlying its compound production remain unexplored. Understanding its molecular and metabolomic profiles can lead to optimizing these production pathways and finding new applications for these compounds.
General Objective
To investigate the metabolomic profile and perform whole-genome sequencing of Planococcus spp., a bacterium isolated from Lake Pastos Grandes, to understand the molecular mechanisms behind biopolymers production, and explore its potential industrial and environmental applications.
Specific Objectives
• To characterize the metabolomic profile of Planococcus sp. under different salt concentrations.
• To sequence and annotate the whole genome of Planococcus sp. to identify genes associated with ectoine biosynthesis, and biopolymers production.
• To analyse the genomic data alongside metabolomic profiles to understand the regulatory mechanisms of biopolymer production.
Direct Results
No hay obligatorios señalados-
Indirect Results
Un articulo científico de la pasante.
Research Level
Investigacion basica
Research Approach
Disciplinario
Project Type
ADMINISTRADO
Ubigeo
LIMA - LIMA - SAN MIGUEL
Research Lines
- 11 — Ciencias analíticas
OECD Fields of Science and Technology
Ciencias naturales - Química - Química analítica
Funding Institution
UNITED NATIONS UNIVERSITY - BIOTECHNOLOGY PROGRAMME FOR LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
| Short title | GENOM SEQUE METAB EXPLOR PLANO |
|---|---|
| Status | Finished |
| Effective start/end date | 4/08/25 → 19/11/25 |