Isolation by Miniaturized Culture Chip of an Antarctic bacterium Aequorivita sp. with antimicrobial and anthelmintic activity

Microbes are prolific sources of bioactive molecules; however, the cultivability issue has severely hampered access to microbial diversity. Novel secondary metabolites from as-yet-unknown or atypical microorganisms from extreme environments have realistic potential to lead to new drugs with benefits for human health. Here, we used a novel approach that mimics the natural environment by using a Miniaturized Culture Chip allowing the isolation of several bacterial strains from Antarctic shallow water sediments under near natural conditions. A Gram-negative Antarctic bacterium belonging to the genus Aequorivita was subjected to further analyses. The Aequorivita sp. genome was sequenced and a bioinformatic approach was applied to identify biosynthetic gene clusters. The extract of the Aequorivita sp. showed antimicrobial and anthelmintic activity towards Multidrug resistant bacteria and the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. This is the first multi-approach study exploring the genomics and biotechnological potential of the genus Aequorivita that is a promising candidate for pharmaceutical applications

EMbaRC - A European Consortium of Microbial Resource Centres for Science & lnnovation

EMbaRC is an EU project funded under the Seventh Framework Programme, Research lnfrastructures action. lt aims to improve, coordinate and validate microbial Biological Resource Centres (BRC) delivery to European and lnternational researchers from both public and private sectors. Apart from the networking and research activities, EMbaRC offers EU-supported grants for Trans-national Access opportunities. Scientists who carry out research in Europe or Associated Countries can use EMbaRC infrastructures to support part of their research project. ln this presentation, the main achievements of the first year will be summarized. Networking activities allow i) an estimation of overlapping/uniqueness between the consortium holdings, ii) a deep analysis of strain deposit after publication, iii) a review of the training offered by the consortium in the collection management and associated tools (identification, data management, etc.), iv) an harmonisation of the quality manual, v) a first draft for a biosecurity code, and vi) establish the basis of a common strategy to increase the sustainability of BRCs. Joint Research activities focused in particular on storage of recalcitrant strains, DNA storage and species identification by new methods like mass spectrometry ... ln parallel, success stories are being gathered to support the idea that microbial collections contribute to the bioeconomy. Such achievements can be a way to increase the sustainability of collections, and some of them will be presented

Grants for trans-national access to leading European Microbial Biological Resource Centres (BRCs) - EMbaRC training and outreach programme

The EMbaRC Training and Outreach Programme (TOP) is an opportunity for scientists to stay atone of the EMbaRC centres to benefit from expert advice and to use advanced equipment to support part of their research project. EMbaRC will cover the bench fees, travel and subsistence costs. This unique opportunity for training in collection management, identification of bacteria and fungi by stateof-the-art techniques or phenotypic screening of a collection of strains is organised with the support of the Seventh Framework Programme, Research lnfrastructures Action

European Consortium of Microbial Resources Centres (EMbaRC): Secure the future of microbial resources at laboratory scale

[Excerpt] EMbaRC is an EU project which aims to improve, coordinate and validate microbial resource centre (MRC) delivery to the European and International researchers. To ensure harmonisation of the quality of MRCs, EMbaRC plans to take the current OECD best practice guidelines and emerging national standards for Biological Resource Centres (BRCs) to the international level. Outreach and training activities will ensure that not only the consortium but that all European collections operate to the standards required to deliver products and services of consistent quality thus meeting customer needs. A one-stop access to the collections of EMbaRC and the wider European BRC community via a searchable web portal building on the outcomes of the CABRI and EBRCN is being developed. (...

Development of a Mass Sensitive Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM)-Based DNA Biosensor Using a 50 MHz Electronic Oscillator Circuit

This work deals with the design of a high sensitivity DNA sequence detector using a 50 MHz quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) electronic oscillator circuit. The oscillator circuitry is based on Miller topology, which is able to work in damping media. Calibration and experimental study of frequency noise are carried out, finding that the designed sensor has a resolution of 7.1 ng/cm2 in dynamic conditions (with circulation of liquid). Then the oscillator is proved as DNA biosensor. Results show that the system is able to detect the presence of complementary target DNAs in a solution with high selectivity and sensitivity. DNA target concentrations higher of 50 ng/mL can be detected

Electrophoretic Patterns of Esterases and Lactate-and L-Malate-Dehydrogenases from Flavobacterium Species

International audienceEsterases and lactate-(LDH) and L-malate-(MDH) dehydrogenases of 64 strains of 13 species of Flavobacterium (particularly 46 strains of F. meningosepticum belonging to 15 different serotypes) were analyzed by horizontal polyacrylamide-agarose gel electrophoresis. Twenty-five esterase types were detected; these enzymes were distinguished by their spectra of hydrolytic activity towards five synthetic substrates (hydrolytic type) and their electrolytic mobilities (electrophoretic type). No variant of LDH was detected in all the strains of Flavobacterium. No variant of MDH was detected in three species: F. aquatile, F. branchiophilum, and F. breve and in serotype I, J and L. of F. meningosepticum. These results within the genus Flavobacterium permit precise identification, which may be useful for characterization of strains kept in collections as well as for epidemiological studies

EMbaRC - European Consortium of Microbial Resource Centres

EMbaRC European Consortium of Microbial Resource Centres CIRM(INRA), CRBIP, DSMZ, CBS, CECT, MUM, BCCM, CABI The properties of microorganisms have been harnessed by man for thousands of years, particularly in brewing and baking but their uses continue to expand not just in food and healthcare but in almost all areas of industry and environmental maintenance. Their authentication, characterisation, stable storage and supply are a major contribution to the knowledge-based bioeconomy. The EMbaRC project is working to coordinate these microbial resources so that researchers in Europe and around the globe have better access and take full advantage of Europe’s microbial resource centres. EMbaRC will create a self-sustainable community of European Microbial Resource Centres. These centres will offer immense bio-diversity and a wide range of biological resources as well as expert services. Together this will encourage the development of new partnerships between public and private organisations which will not only generate revenue but also better microbial research. The project is further laying the foundation for a Global Biological Resource Centre Network giving Europe a lead role in on the global microbial scene. Part of this is setting up better access to biological resources and associated services. This benefits researchers as they will be able to take advantage of previous outcomes and other resources for their research. For EMbaRC to be a successful project, quality, standards and access need to be harmonised across all partner organisations. As such, an important element of the project is sharing best practices between all involved research institutes and ensuring the best operational standards are being used in all microbial research centres. EMbaRC researchers are also working on creating a code of conduct for biosecurity for European microbial biological resource collections. This will ensure that all specimens contained in any of the microbial resource centres will not, intentionally or unintentionally, be used in the creation of biological weapons. Furthermore, there are numerous microbial collections that have either been abandoned or are endangered that will receive support fromthe EMbaRC project. Their resources will be integrated into the larger EMbaRC community, adding immense value to the project and these smaller centres benefit from the resources and expertise of the larger centres.Over the long term, EMbaRC aims to bring together biological resource centres to find complementary sources of funding and ensure their continued existence. Moreover, joint research will improve strain and DNA storage and explore new microorganism identification methods. A greater number of users will have access to these resource centres, and their research through improved dissemination efforts, including the creation of an extensive web portal and information database as well as regular publication of results to the wider scientific community.Start date:1st February 2009 / Completion date: 31stJanuary 2012 Project webpage:www.embarc.e

Identification of Strains of <i>Alcaligenes</i> and <i>Agrobacterium</i> by a Polyphasic Approach

International audienceThe number of stable discriminant biochemical characters is limited in the genera Alcaligenes and Agrobacterium, whose species are consequently difficult to distinguish from one another by conventional tests. Moreover, genomic studies have recently drastically modified the nomenclature of these genera; for example, Alcaligenes xylosoxidans was transferred to the genus Achromobacter in 1998. Twenty-five strains of Achromobacter xylosoxidans, three strains of an Agrobacterium sp., five strains of an Alcaligenes sp., and four unnamed strains belonging to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention group IVc-2 were examined. These strains were characterized by conventional tests, including biochemical tests. The assimilation of 99 carbohydrates, organic acids, and amino acids was studied by using Biotype-100 strips, and rRNA gene restriction patterns were obtained with the automated Riboprinter microbial characterization system after cleavage of total DNA with EcoRI or PstI restriction endonuclease. This polyphasic approach allowed the two subspecies of A. xylosoxidans to be clearly separated. Relationships between five strains and the Ralstonia paucula type strain were demonstrated. Likewise, three strains were found to be related to the Ochrobactrum anthropi type strain. We showed that substrate assimilation tests and automated ribotyping provide a simple, rapid, and reliable means of identifying A. xylosoxidans subspecies and that these two methods can be used as alternative methods to characterize unidentified strains rapidly when discriminant biochemical characters are missing