Potential of Penicillium Species in the Bioremediation Field

The effects on the environment of pollution, particularly that caused by various industrial activities, have been responsible for the accelerated fluxes of organic and inorganic matter in the ecosphere. Xenobiotics such as phenol, phenolic compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and heavy metals, even at low concentrations, can be toxic to humans and other forms of life. Many of the remediation technologies currently being used for contaminated soil and water involve not only physical and chemical treatment, but also biological processes, where microbial activity is the responsible for pollutant removal and/or recovery. Fungi are present in aquatic sediments, terrestrial habitats and water surfaces and play a significant part in natural remediation of metal and aromatic compounds. Fungi also have advantages over bacteria since fungal hyphae can penetrate contaminated soil, reaching not only heavy metals but also xenobiotic compounds. Despite of the abundance of such fungi in wastes, penicillia in particular have received little attention in bioremediation and biodegradation studies. Additionally, several studies conducted with different strains of imperfecti fungi, Penicillium spp. have demonstrated their ability to degrade different xenobiotic compounds with low co-substrate requirements, and could be potentially interesting for the development of economically feasible processes for pollutant transformation

Systematic structure-based search for Ochratoxin-degrading enzymes in Proteomes from Filamentous fungi

© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Background: ochratoxins are mycotoxins produced by filamentous fungi with important implications in the food manufacturing industry due to their toxicity. Decontamination by specific ochratoxin-degrading enzymes has become an interesting alternative for the treatment of contaminated food commodities. Methods: using a structure-based approach based on homology modeling, blind molecular docking of substrates and characterization of low-frequency protein motions, we performed a proteome mining in filamentous fungi to characterize new enzymes with potential ochratoxinase activity. Results: the proteome mining results demonstrated the ubiquitous presence of fungal binuclear zinc-dependent amido-hydrolases with a high degree of structural homology to the already characterized ochratoxinase from Aspergillus niger. Ochratoxinase-like enzymes from ochratoxin-producing fungi showed more favorable substrate-binding pockets to accommodate ochratoxins A and B. Conclusions: filamentous fungi are an interesting and rich source of hydrolases potentially capable of degrading ochratoxins, and could be used for the detoxification of diverse food commodities.This work is supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the framework of the research grant PTDC-MED-GEN-29389-2017.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Structural insights into carboxylic polyester-degrading enzymes and their functional depolymerizing neighbors

Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative CommonsAttribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Esters are organic compounds widely represented in cellular structures and metabolism, originated by the condensation of organic acids and alcohols. Esterification reactions are also used by chemical industries for the production of synthetic plastic polymers. Polyester plastics are an increasing source of environmental pollution due to their intrinsic stability and limited recycling efforts. Bioremediation of polyesters based on the use of specific microbial enzymes is an interesting alternative to the current methods for the valorization of used plastics. Microbial esterases are promising catalysts for the biodegradation of polyesters that can be engineered to improve their biochemical properties. In this work, we analyzed the structure-activity relationships in microbial esterases, with special focus on the recently described plastic-degrading enzymes isolated from marine microorganisms and their structural homologs. Our analysis, based on structure-alignment, molecular docking, coevolution of amino acids and surface electrostatics determined the specific characteristics of some polyester hydrolases that could be related with their efficiency in the degradation of aromatic polyesters, such as phthalates.This work is supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the framework of the research grant PTDC-MED-GEN-29389-2017.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

O contributo da intervenção psicomotora em meio aquático no comportamento adaptativo e nas competências em meio aquático de adolescentes e adultos com dificuldades intelectuais e desenvolvimentais

Artigo 1: O comportamento adaptativo (CA), como desempenho típico individual perante as exigências socioculturais, tem assumido um papel integrante na compreensão e definição da Dificuldade Intelectual e Desenvolvimental (DID), destacando-se o impacto do contexto ecológico. A introdução do CA exige uma mudança nas intervenções, com pessoas com DID, enfatizando a relação entre as capacidades intelectuais e adaptativas e o tipo de apoio para o funcionamento independente e participação social. A intervenção psicomotora parte do movimento e do corpo mediador como fatores basilares para a adaptação individual ao contexto, assumindose como um dos apoios prestados às pessoas com DID e que se pode operacionalizar em diferentes meios (e.g.: o aquático). A utilização da água para fins terapêuticos, é perspetivada como uma prática vantajosa, permitindo explorações psicomotoras, para um novo reportório corporal. Neste sentido, este artigo faz um enquadramento teórico do contributo que a intervenção psicomotora em meio aquático poderá assumir ao nível do comportamento adaptativo e nas competências em meio aquático, de adolescentes e adultos com dificuldades intelectuais e desenvolvimentais.Artigo 2: Apesar da intervenção psicomotora se assumir como um dos apoios prestados a pessoas com Dificuldades Intelectuais e Desenvolvimentais (DID) em contexto institucional, continua a fazer-se sentir a necessidade da sua compreensão e aplicação, sentindo-se a necessidade de monitorizar a sua efetividade. O meio aquático possibilita diversas experiências, sensações e aprendizagens que contribuem para o desenvolvimento individual. Este estudo analisa o contributo da intervenção psicomotora em meio aquático no comportamento adaptativo e nas competências em meio aquático de 4 adolescentes, entre os 14 e 17 anos (15.25±1.26) e 4 adultos entre os 24 e 45 anos (34.50±9.33), 6 do género masculino, com DID e institucionalizados. Todos os participantes foram avaliados em três momentos (baseline, pós-intervenção e um mês após a intervenção) através da Escala de Comportamento Adaptativo - versão Portuguesa e Checklist de Avaliação do Meio Aquático. Baseados nos resultados da avaliação baseline, foi planeado e implementado um programa de intervenção psicomotora em meio aquático durante 6 meses, com uma a duas sessões de 45 min por semana. Apesar dos resultados não traduzirem diferenças significativas, observaram-se melhorias qualitativas nas atividades de vida diária e em algumas competências em meio aquático. As principais conclusões e recomendações serão apresentadas.Article 1: Adaptive Behavior, focused on the quality of daily interaction between person and environment has become increasingly important in the newest definitions and comprehensive approach of intellectual and developmental disability (IDD), highlighting an ecological framework. Ensuring a better understanding of IDD as well as a multidimensional approach to human functioning, the introduction of the adaptive behavior construct and its assessment is demanding new and more adjusted interventions, emphasizing the relationship between intellectual and adaptive skills as well as the type of supports needed, for a more independent functioning and social participation. Psychomotor Therapy uses movement as a therapeutic tool and body as the mediating variable, through a wide range of movement activities for personal adaptation to community settings. Psychomotor Therapy is one of the services and supports provided, to people with IDD, in institutions and it can be applied within several environments such as water, due to its properties which allow different and new adjusted psychomotor experiences. This article aims to contribute for an theoretical framework on the contribution of psychomotor intervention in an aquatic environment in both adaptive behavior and aquatic skills of adolescents and adults with intellectual and developmental difficulties.Article 2: Nowadays, Psychomotor Therapy is one of the supports most provided to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in institutional contexts. Nevertheless, the need for its effectiveness assessment is still needed, due to scarce scientific evidences on the field. The aquatic environment provides varied experiences, feelings and learnings that contribute to personal development. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the contribution of a psychomotor therapy program in water, on the adaptive behavior and aquatic skills of 4 adolescents between 14 and 17 years (15:25 ± 1:26) and 4 adults between 24 and 45 years (34.50 ± 9:33), 6 male, with IDD, all institutionalized. All participants were evaluated in three different moments (baseline, post-intervention and one month after the intervention) through the Portuguese version of Adaptive Behavior Scale - and Aquatic Environment Checklist. Based on the baseline evaluation results, a 6-month aquatic psychomotor intervention program was planned and implemented, with one to two sessions of 45 min per week. Although results did not show significant differences, qualitative improvements were observed in daily life activities and in some aquatic skills. Main conclusions and recommendations to research and practice will be presented

Notificação de incidentes e eventos adversos em neonatologia : adaptação de um sistema de notificação numa unidade de cuidados intermédios neonatal

RESUMO - A segurança do doente é um tema que tem sido amplamente estudado por todo o mundo. Com o desenvolvimento do conhecimento, das técnicas e o advento das learning organizations é possível detectar as áreas onde existe potencial risco, conhecer o número de incidentes de forma sistemática, promover a evolução das técnicas nas áreas mais urgentes, determinar o impacto de todos os incidentes e eventos adversos, aprender com eles e promover modificações nas organizações. A neonatologia não foi excepção, pelo que se pretende a criação e validação de um sistema de notificação de eventos adversos e de incidentes, anónimo e não punitivo, adaptado a uma Unidade de Cuidados Intermédios Neonatal. O delineamento do estudo passou pela revisão bibliográfica para a construção de um sistema e posterior análise do mesmo por um painel de especialistas, para a selecção e consenso de itens que integraram o modelo. Por fim este sistema foi sujeito a um pré-teste. Com a aplicação da Técnica de Grupo Nominal constatou-se que a confidencialidade dos dados é um tema muito sensível aos profissionais. Na aplicação do pré-teste as categorias de incidentes notificados relacionam-se com medicação, ventilação e identificação. Assim sendo, este sistema detém validade interna, no entanto com a aplicação do pré-teste verificou-se que este perde validade externa, pelo que os resultados apresentados neste projecto de investigação não podem ser generalizados. A notificação é uma área para a qual os profissionais estão sensibilizados, no entanto, ainda encontra muitos entraves à sua implementação e consequentemente à colheita de dados.ABSTRACT - Patient safety is a topic that has been widely studied around the world. With the development of knowledge, techniques and the advent of learning organizations it is possible to detect areas where there is a potential risk, to know the number of incidents and adverse events on a systematic way, to promote the technical progress and to determine the impact of incidents and adverse events, learning from them and promoting chances in organizations. The Neonatology was no exception. The goal of this project is the creation and validation of an anonymous and non-punitive reporting system of incidents and adverse events, adapted to a Neonatal Intermediate Care Unit. The design of the study went though literature‟s review for the construction of a system, subsequent analysis by a panel of experts. For the selection and consensus of the items that should be included so it could be applied. Finally this system was subjected to a pre-test. By applying the Nominal Group Technique, was possible to understand that data confidentiality is a very sensitive area amongst the professionals. Medication, ventilation and identification were the areas with reported incidents when the pre-test was put into practice. This system is internally valid, but when put into practice, showed it has no external valid, turning the final results on this investigation project not reliable for general appliance. Professionals are sensitive regarding notification, but it still finds some obstacles to its implementation and post data collection

Transcriptomic Analysis of Acetaminophen Biodegradation by Penicillium chrysogenum var. halophenolicum and Insights into Energy and Stress Response Pathways

Publisher Copyright: © 2023 by the authors. This research received no external funding(1) Background: Acetaminophen (APAP), an active component of many analgesic and antipyretic drugs, is one of the most concerning trace contaminants in the environment and is considered as an emergent pollutant of marine and aquatic ecosystems. Despite its biodegradability, APAP has become a recalcitrant compound due to the growth of the global population, the ease of availability, and the inefficient wastewater treatment applied. (2) Methods: In this study, we used a transcriptomic approach to obtain functional and metabolic insights about the metabolization of APAP by a phenol-degrading fungal strain, Penicillium chrysogenum var. halophenolicum. (3) Results: We determined that the transcriptomic profile exhibited by the fungal strain during APAP degradation was very dynamic, being characterized by an abundance of dysregulated transcripts which were proportional to the drug metabolization. Using a systems biology approach, we also inferred the protein functional interaction networks that could be related to APAP degradation. We proposed the involvement of intracellular and extracellular enzymes, such as amidases, cytochrome P450, laccases, and extradiol-dioxygenases, among others. (4) Conclusions: Our data suggested that the fungus could metabolize APAP via a complex metabolic pathway, generating nontoxic metabolites, which demonstrated its potential in the bioremediation of this drug.publishersversionpublishe

Non-random genome editing and natural cellular engineering in cognition-based evolution

Publisher Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.Neo-Darwinism presumes that biological variation is a product of random genetic replication errors and natural selection. Cognition-Based Evolution (CBE) asserts a comprehensive alterna-tive approach to phenotypic variation and the generation of biological novelty. In CBE, evolutionary variation is the product of natural cellular engineering that permits purposive genetic adjustments as cellular problem-solving. CBE upholds that the cornerstone of biology is the intelligent measuring cell. Since all biological information that is available to cells is ambiguous, multicellularity arises from the cellular requirement to maximize the validity of available environmental information. This is best accomplished through collective measurement purposed towards maintaining and optimizing individual cellular states of homeorhesis as dynamic flux that sustains cellular equipoise. The collective action of the multicellular measurement and assessment of information and its collaborative communication is natural cellular engineering. Its yield is linked cellular ecologies and mutualized niche constructions that comprise biofilms and holobionts. In this context, biological variation is the product of collective differential assessment of ambiguous environmental cues by networking intelligent cells. Such concerted action is enabled by non-random natural genomic editing in response to epigenetic impacts and environmental stresses. Random genetic activity can be either constrained or deployed as a ‘harnessing of stochasticity’. Therefore, genes are cellular tools. Selection filters cellular solutions to environmental stresses to assure continuous cellular-organismal-environmental complementarity. Since all multicellular eukaryotes are holobionts as vast assemblages of participants of each of the three cellular domains (Prokaryota, Archaea, Eukaryota) and the virome, multicellular variation is necessarily a product of co-engineering among them.publishersversionpublishe

RNA Regulatory Networks 2.0

© 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).The central role of RNA molecules in cell biology has been an expanding subject of study since the proposal of the "RNA world" hypothesis 60 years ago [...].info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

DNA damage induced by hydroquinone can be prevented by fungal detoxification

© 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/).Hydroquinone is a benzene metabolite with a wide range of industrial applications, which has potential for widespread human exposure; however, the toxicity of hydroquinone on human cells remains unclear. The aims of this study are to investigate the cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of hydroquinone in human primary fibroblasts and human colon cancer cells (HCT116). Low doses of hydroquinone (227-454 μM) reduce the viability of fibroblasts and HCT116 cells, determined by resazurin conversion, and induce genotoxic damage (DNA strand breaks), as assessed by alkaline comet assays. Bioremediation may provide an excellent alternative to promote the degradation of hydroquinone, however few microorganisms are known that efficiently degrade it. Here we also investigate the capacity of a halotolerant fungus, Penicillium chrysogenum var. halophenolicum, to remove hydroquinone toxicity under hypersaline condition. The fungus is able to tolerate high concentrations of hydroquinone and can reverse these noxious effects via degradation of hydroquinone to completion, even when the initial concentration of this compound is as high as 7265 μM. Our findings reveal that P. chrysogenum var. halophenolicum efficiently degrade hydroquinone under hypersaline conditions, placing this fungus among the best candidates for the detoxification of habitats contaminated with this aromatic compound.This work was partially supported by a Gulbenkian Foundation research grant (#96526/2009) awarded to JF, and PD received support from Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia/FCT-Portugal (SFRH/BD/45502/2008).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Interspecies communication in holobionts by non-coding RNA exchange

PTDC-MED-GEN-29389-2017Complex organisms are associations of different cells that coexist and collaborate creating a living consortium, the holobiont. The relationships between the holobiont members are essential for proper homeostasis of the organisms, and they are founded on the establishment of complex inter-connections between all the cells. Non-coding RNAs are regulatory molecules that can also act as communication signals between cells, being involved in either homeostasis or dysbiosis of the holobionts. Eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells can transmit signals via non-coding RNAs while using specific extracellular conveyors that travel to the target cell and can be translated into a regulatory response by dedicated molecular machinery. Within holobionts, non-coding RNA regulatory signaling is involved in symbiotic and pathogenic relationships among the cells. This review analyzes current knowledge regarding the role of non-coding RNAs in cell-to-cell communication, with a special focus on the signaling between cells in multi-organism consortia.publishersversionpublishe