Day 1 :
Keynote Forum
Miguel Angel Hernandez Rivera
Universidad Juarez Autonoma de Tabasco, Mexico
Keynote: Biosurfactant synthesized by Azospirillum lipoferum ALM1B2: Characterization and application for environmental protection
Time : 10:00-10:50
Biography:
Miguel Angel Hernandez Rivera has completed his PhD from National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), Mexico. He has been the Head of the ChemistryEngineering of the Biotechnology Laboratory of the Autonomous Juarez University of Tabasco (UJAT) for 28 years and Principal of Autonomous Juarez Universityof Tabasco (UJAT) for 8 years. He has published various papers in reputed journals and developed patents.
Abstract:
This study characterizes a biotensoactive produced by the bacterium Azospirillum lipoferum, which was isolated from the rhizospheres of contaminated plants with oil in the lower basin of the Tonala River, Villa Benito Juarez, municipality ofCardenas, Tabasco, Mexico. The following properties were analyzed: viscosity at 25 °C, elemental analysis (%mol) by scanning electron microscopy, density at different temperatures, molecular weight, acute toxicity, median lethal concentration (LC50) and saponification and acidity indices. The effects of pH (6.0, 7.0, 8.0 and 9.0) and temperature (25, 30, 35 and 40 °C) on the production of the biotensoactive and the effect of NaCl on the surface tension, density and emulsifying capacity were studied. The results showed that the viscosity remained stable between 1.0914 and 1.1276 mPa-s, so the biotensoactive was classified as low-molecular weight. Toxic effects on the population of Eisenia foetida began at surfactant concentrations above 55,000 ppm and the LC50 was 96695 ppm. The highest yield of biotensoactive production was obtained 48 hours after the beginning of thetreatment at pH 8 and pH 9 and 25 °C. At 25 °C, the surface tension ranged from 44.60 mN/m.
Keynote Forum
Sunil Kumar Lal
Monash University, Malaysia
Keynote: New anti-viral drug targets for influenza A virus: Exploiting host-virus interactions to combat viral infections
Time : 11:20-12:05
Biography:
Sunil K Lal has joined the School of Science, Monash University, Malaysia in 2014. He has completed his PhD in Microbial Genetics from Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, USA in 1989 following which he was appointed as Faculty at the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, USA. In 1994 he joined as a Senior Research Scientist at the International Centre for Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology (ICGEB), New Delhi where he worked for 22 years. He is internationally well known for his research work in the field of Tropical and Infectious Disease Biology. He is on the panel of many international government committees, editorial boards and universities. He has over 100 publications in international scientific jornals and has published three international books on emerging viral diseases.
Abstract:
Sporadic outbreaks of epizootics like the recent swine and avian influenza remind us of the potential for communicable diseases to quickly spread into worldwide epidemics. Despite improved surveillance and quarantine measures, we find ourselves under the threat of an inevitable pandemic that is expected in the near future. Effective and new therapeutic targets are therefore essential to protect against current and future sporadic outbreaks and the best route to achieving this is through a detailed and global view of virus-host interactions. For the past 25 years, my lab has been focused on this approach into investigating various different proteins that have been exploited by viral proteins by protein-protein interactions. Further, we have been able to use this information to identify the pathways that these host proteins regulate and develop a complete hypothesis on how a particular host-viral interaction controls a particular host innate defense activity. The ultimate goal of this research is to design biomolecules that inhibit our newfound host-virus interactions in order to create hardship for the infecting virus. Traditional genetic screening and new functional genomics provides us a unique approach to examine the effect of influenza infection on global host mRNA levels. Biological validation of such novel predictions has been our approach to identifying potentially new anti-viral targets. We have been able to discover exciting new insights into innate immunity, cytokine and cell signaling, cell survival, death and proliferation thus shedding new vision on strategies used by influenza viruses to overcome these cellular barriers and propose new anti-viral targets.
- Beneficial Microorganism | Sterility and Asepsis | Anti-microbial Activity
Chair
Sunil Kumar Lal
Monash University, Malaysia
Co-Chair
Hemanth Noothalapati
Shimane University, Japan
Session Introduction
Soo-Ki Kim
Konkuk University, South Korea
Title: Diverse microbes inhabiting livestock feed resources
Biography:
Soo-Ki Kim has completed his PhD in Osaka University and Postdoctoral studies in Department of Biology of Purdue University. He is a Professor in Department of Animal Science and Technology of Konkuk University in South Korea. He has published research papers in the field of basic microbiology and development of animal feed additives. He has contributed as a President of Korean Agricultural Microbiology Research Association from 2013 to 2015.
Abstract:
The safety of animal feed resources is of global importance in livestock sector. Knowledge of the function and diversity of microorganisms dwelling in animal feed habitats is essentially required beforehand for the safe management of feed resources. Microorganisms are not only beneficial organisms in natural feed resources but are also key players in spoilage processes changing feed quality. Depending on moisture and nutrient contents, diverse microbes are differentially inhabiting in various feed resources such as barley, soybean curd residue, brewer's grain, rice bran, spent mushroom substrates, pig feed, broiler feed, milking cow feed and corn silage etc. However, to date, microorganisms inhabiting naturally in feed resources were little reported. In this study, about 100 strains of both bacteria and fungi were isolated from various feed resources and then identified by 16S rDNA sequencing. Beneficial microorganisms include Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactococcus lactis and Leuconostoc citreum, etc. Harmful microorganisms include Burkholderia vietnamiensis, Enterococcus casseliflavus, Staphylococcus saprophyticus, Enterococcus durans and Pantoea agglomerans, etc. Many other isolated strains were unclear for a safety as well as function. We will mention the strains of harmful microorganism involved in feed spoilage and pathogen by literature review. Enzyme activities related on nutrient digestion, drug resistance and antimicrobial activity were also investigated on the isolated strains.
Hemanth Nag Noothalapati Venkata
Shimane University, Japan
Title: Stable isotope probing coupled Raman microscopy: An efficient way to study single cell biochemistry
Biography:
Hemanth Nag Noothalapati Venkata has completed his PhD from National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan. During his PhD, he studied spatio-temporal relationship between proteome and lipid droplet in single fission yeast cells in vivo by Raman microscopy. He has then developed methods to study single cell biochemistry utilizing carbon isotopes during his Post-doctorate at Ultimate Spectroscopy and Imaging Laboratory, NCTU. Later he moved to Shimane University, Japan as an Assistant Professor and has been actively working on medical and biological applications of Raman microspectroscopy.
Abstract:
Lipid droplets have been hypothesized to be intimately associated with intracellular proteins. However, there is little direct evidence for both spatiotemporal and functional relations between lipid droplets and proteins provided by molecular -level studies on intact cells. To elucidate the interplay between them at the single cell level, Raman microscopy was coupled with a very powerful strategy, namely, stable isotope labeling. Here, I present in vivo time lapse Raman imaging, coupled with stableisotope (13C) labeling, of single living Schizosaccharomyces pombe cells. Our results show that the proteins newly synthesized from incorporated 13C-substrate are localized specifically to lipid droplets as the lipid concentration within the cell increases. Lipids, which help to store energy in a compact form, have variety of roles in biological systems and their metabolism is centralto life. Here, we show that combination of stable isotope probing (SIP), Raman micro-spectroscopy and multivariate curve resolution analysis can serve as a valuable approach in metabolomics research. We studied ergosterol biosynthesis in single living fission yeast cells, grown in mixtures of normal (12C) and 13C-glucose as the sole carbon source. By carefully looking into the biosynthetic pathways and by comparing the observed peak positions with calculation results on isotope-substituted ergosterol, it is possible to understand how 13C is incorporated in the conjugated C=C moiety of the molecule. The multivariate spectral data analysis revealed intrinsic spectra and their relative abundances of all isotopomers.
Luis A Maldonado
Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana, Mexico Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico
Title: Morphological traits of some actinobacteria and their importance in the genomic era
Biography:
Luis A Maldonado has completed his PhD at the University of Newcastle, UK in 2002, followed by a Postdoctoral position in Biodiversity and Biogeography of Marine Actinomycetes. He has published more than 30 papers and/or book chapters in the actinobacteria field that have been cited over 1250 times. He is PLOS ONE Academic Editor, constantly reviews manuscripts for other journals and grant funding agencies. He is also a co-author on the latest edition of the Bergey’s Manual for the genera Gordonia, Nocardia and Salinispora. His research interests are in improving selective isolation strategies for industrially important actinobacteria notably Micromonospora, Salinispora and rare Streptomyces while exploring their biotechnological applications.
Abstract:
Microbes still are a vast and fully unexplored source for novel biologically active compounds and the actinobacteria subgroup (Gram positive bacteria with a 40 to 60% GC content) accounts for nearly 80% of the current medically employed antibiotics. Among the actinobacteria, members of the genus Salinispora are a promising source for novel compounds due to their unique ability to solely grow on the presence of sea water, a fact which supports their adeptness to the marine ecosystem. Salinispora are still difficult to isolate and characterize as strains usually undergo several chameleonic morphological states. In this study, a collection of 66 isolates recovered from a national resource and assigned to the genus Salinispora were screened
for their metabolic profiles coupled to both genotypic and morphological properties. Evaluation of the enzymatic profile of the strains for amylases, cellulases, lipases and proteases indicated that all the strains produced amylases and lipases whereas only 7.5% produced proteases; no cellulase activity was found. Also, the 66 strains showed antimicrobial activity against clinical isolates of Staphylococcus epidermidis. It is therefore, proposed that genome sequencing, single gene oriented phylogenies and morphological properties should be used in conjunction to construct a robust system to fully comprehend and exploit the biotechnological potential of Salinispora since several of the isolates from this study contained sequences not-related to previously reported Rifamycin clusters from Salinispora recovered from other regions of the world.
Huang Miao
Temasek Polytechnic, Singapore
Title: Development of cost-effective fermentation media for biobutanol production from lignocellulosic biomass
Biography:
Huang Miao has completed her PhD from School of Biological Science, Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore and Postdoctoral studies from School of Civil and Environmental Engineering in NTU. She is currently a Research Scientist in Temasek Polytechnic, Singapore. She is interested in industrial and environmental microbiology, where the various microorganisms with their unique genetic makeup play important roles.
Abstract:
Biobutanol as biofuel is superior to bioethanol as it can be used wholly in petrol engines and does not require any modification to the existing infrastructure for its transport and distribution. Biobutanol from lignocellulosic feedstock is an environmentally sustainable solution to energy crisis as it is renewable and does not compete with the world’s increasing population for food. Various types of lignocellulosic biomass have been studied for biobutanol production. In all these studies, pre-treatment is an essential step to disrupt the highly-ordered cellulose structure and the lignin-carbohydrate complex and ultimately hydrolyze cellulose and hemicellulose to simple sugars. Unfortunately, this process increases the entire cost of lignocellulosic biobutanol production. In this study, a cost-effective fermentation media was developed for biobutanol production using Clostridium beijerinckii strains. This optimized fermentation media were prepared with less energy input and no supplementation of extra carbon source or expensive nitrogen source to reduce cost for large scale industrial applications. The developed media could support satisfactory microbial growth without concentration or detoxification procedures. Knowledge shared in this study will also be beneficial for the lignocellulosic bio-refinery industry overall.
Anju Dhiman
Maharshi Dayanand University, India
Title: Seclusion and depiction of microorganisms responsible for spoilage of fruits and vegetables
Biography:
Anju Dhiman has completed her PhD from Maharshi Dayanand University and presently serving as an Assistant Professor since 2006. She has published more than 35 papers in reputed journals and serving as an Editorial Board Member of reputed pharmacy journals.
Abstract:
Fruits and vegetables are the main dietary source of nutrients, micronutrients, vitamins and fiber for human, which are consumed widely. However, they are contaminated with diverse range of bacterias and their spores through reproductive cells. Fruits and vegans samples were collected from four different places viz. Bhalout (Rohtak, India), Chandpur (Jind, India), Chang (Bhiwani) and Ganaur (Sonipat). Test samples were processed to identify total viable cells (cfu/ml). The highest total viable count was found in tomato followed by lemon. Bacillus, Micrococcus, Staphylococcus, Klebsiella, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas and Enterobacter species were isolated and identified on the basis of morphology (Gram staining and cell morphology), biochemical tests (indole production test, methyl-red test, Voges-Proskauer test and citrate utilization test) and growth on selective cum differential culture media (such as MacConkey agar and mannitol salt agar media). It was found that Bacillus, Klebsiella, E. coli, E. aerogenes and Pseudomonas were dominating species in the spoilage of every category of fruits and vegan samples. The bacteria particularly Gram negative, was key responsible for food spoilage. Proper handling of fruits and vegetables, hygiene transportation and appropriate storage is necessary to avoid microbial food spoilage and related health risks.
Georgios Daletos
Heinrich Heine University, Germany
Title: Chlorflavonin, a flavone-type fungal metabolite with potent and selective antitubercular activity
Biography:
Georgios Daletos obtained his Diploma and Graduate Diploma of Specialization (GDS) degrees in Pharmacy and Pharmacognosy at the University of Patras (Greece), in 2007 and 2010, respectively. He completed his Doctorate (Ph.D.) degree in Pharmacy from the Institute of Pharmaceutical Biology and Biotechnology (Heinrich-Heine University of Duesseldorf, Germany), in 2015, under the supervision of Professor Dr. Peter Proksch. Currently, he is a postdoctoral researcher at the same institution. His research interest is focused on the isolation and identification of new bioactive secondary metabolites from marine invertebrates and microorganisms.
Abstract:
Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the etiologic agent of tuberculosis (TB), is one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity caused by pathogenic microorganisms. Treatment of TB is currently facing serious problems due to the emergence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) M. tuberculosis strains. The latter is practically untreatable with the currently available anti-TB drugs on the market and thus that there is an urgent need for novel antibiotics against TB. During our ongoing search for new potential anti-TB drug leads, we investigated the endophytic fungus Mucor irregularis, which was isolated from the Cameroonian medicinal plant Moringa stenopetala. The ethyl acetate extract of M. irregularis yielded two flavonoid-type derivatives, chlorflavonin and dechlorflavonin, the latter only differing by the absence of a chlorine atom in the B ring. In contrast to dechlorflavonin, chlorflavonin exhibited strong growth inhibitory activity against M. tuberculosis, indicating that chlorination plays an important role for anti-TB activity. Importantly, chlorflavonin showed no cytotoxicity against the human fibroblast (MRC-5) and macrophage-like human acute monocytic leukemia (THP-1) cell lines up to concentrations of 100 μM. Mapping of resistance-mediating mutations revealed that chlorflavonin specifically inhibits the acetohydroxyacid synthase IIvB1, which mediates the first step in branched chain amino acids and pantothenic acid biosynthesis. Chlorflavonin displayed synergistic effects in combination with the first-line antibiotic isoniazid leading to a complete sterilization and no resistance in liquid culture during combination treatment. Moreover, chlorflavonin exhibited potent activity against XDR M. tuberculosis strains, which highlights the potential of this compound as a promising anti-TB agent.