Project Management Practices at Portuguese Startups

Nowadays, due to the continuous changes in technology and markets, com-panies need to use the best project management practices to effectively man-age their projects. The use of these practices however will not have the same results in different types of projects and in different organizations. The prac-tices used by larger companies may have different results if used by smaller companies. With this in mind and focused on project management practices used by Portuguese startups, this study explores the value that project man-agement represents for this type of companies. The study also focused on scale-ups, which are startups that have already undergone an initial phase of maturation and have more complex structures and processes, thus allowing us to see how the project management practices change with the evolution of the organization. This way, it was possible to observe that project manage-ment is seen as an essential factor within this type of organizations. These organizations seem to opt for a more agile approach to project management, thus taking advantage of the flexibility typically offered by such approaches. This type of approach seems to continue as startups mature, where there is only an increase in the formalization and complexity of project management practices and tools.FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia within the Project Scope: UID/CEC/00319/201

Hopanoid lipids: from membranes to plant–bacteria interactions

International audienceLipid research represents a frontier for microbiology, as showcased by hopanoid lipids. Hopanoids, which resemble sterols and are found in the membranes of diverse bacteria, have left an extensive molecular fossil record. They were first discovered by petroleum geologists. Today, hopanoid-producing bacteria remain abundant in various ecosystems, such as the rhizosphere. Recently, great progress has been made in our understanding of hopanoid biosynthesis, facilitated in part by technical advances in lipid identification and quantification. A variety of genetically tractable, hopanoid-producing bacteria have been cultured, and tools to manipulate hopanoid biosynthesis and detect hopanoids are improving. However, we still have much to learn regarding how hopanoid production is regulated, how hopanoids act biophysically and biochemically, and how their production affects bacterial interactions with other organisms, such as plants. The study of hopanoids thus offers rich opportunities for discovery