2015 |
Chavez, R; Fierro, F; Garcia-Rico, R O; Vaca, I Filamentous Fungi from Extreme Environments as a Promising Source of Novel Bioactive Secondary Metabolites Artículo de revista Frontiers in Microbiology, 6 , 2015, ISSN: 1664-302x. Resumen | Enlaces | BibTeX | Etiquetas: aspergillus-nidulans, biosynthetic clusters, discovery, drug environments, expression, extreme filamentous fungi, gene genome heterologous metabolites, metagenome, metagenomics, mining, natural natural-products, polyketide, products, resource, secondary sequence, strategy @article{RN241, title = {Filamentous Fungi from Extreme Environments as a Promising Source of Novel Bioactive Secondary Metabolites}, author = { R. Chavez and F. Fierro and R.O. Garcia-Rico and I. Vaca}, url = {/brokenurl#<Go to ISI>://WOS:000361157000001}, doi = {10.3389/fmicb.2015.00903}, issn = {1664-302x}, year = {2015}, date = {2015-01-01}, journal = {Frontiers in Microbiology}, volume = {6}, abstract = {Natural product search is undergoing resurgence upon the discovery of a huge previously unknown potential for secondary metabolite (SM) production hidden in microbial genomes. This is also the case for filamentous fungi, since their genomes contain a high number of "orphan" SM gene clusters. Recent estimates indicate that only 5% of existing fungal species have been described, thus the potential for the discovery of novel metabolites in fungi is huge. In this context, fungi thriving in harsh environments are of particular interest since they are outstanding producers of unusual chemical structures. At present, there are around 16 genomes from extreme environment-isolated fungi in databases. In a preliminary analysis of three of these genomes we found that several of the predicted SM gene clusters are probably involved in the biosynthesis of compounds not yet described. Genome mining strategies allow the exploitation of the information in genome sequences for the discovery of new natural compounds. The synergy between genome mining strategies and the expected abundance of SMs in fungi from extreme environments is a promising path to discover new natural compounds as a source of medically useful drugs.}, keywords = {aspergillus-nidulans, biosynthetic clusters, discovery, drug environments, expression, extreme filamentous fungi, gene genome heterologous metabolites, metagenome, metagenomics, mining, natural natural-products, polyketide, products, resource, secondary sequence, strategy}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Natural product search is undergoing resurgence upon the discovery of a huge previously unknown potential for secondary metabolite (SM) production hidden in microbial genomes. This is also the case for filamentous fungi, since their genomes contain a high number of "orphan" SM gene clusters. Recent estimates indicate that only 5% of existing fungal species have been described, thus the potential for the discovery of novel metabolites in fungi is huge. In this context, fungi thriving in harsh environments are of particular interest since they are outstanding producers of unusual chemical structures. At present, there are around 16 genomes from extreme environment-isolated fungi in databases. In a preliminary analysis of three of these genomes we found that several of the predicted SM gene clusters are probably involved in the biosynthesis of compounds not yet described. Genome mining strategies allow the exploitation of the information in genome sequences for the discovery of new natural compounds. The synergy between genome mining strategies and the expected abundance of SMs in fungi from extreme environments is a promising path to discover new natural compounds as a source of medically useful drugs. |
2014 |
Toro, R; Donoso, C S; Seguel, R A; Morales, R G E; Leiva, M A Photochemical Ozone Pollution in the Valparaiso Region, Chile Artículo de revista Air Quality Atmosphere and Health, 7 (1), pp. 1-11, 2014, ISSN: 1873-9318. Resumen | Enlaces | BibTeX | Etiquetas: control emissions, environmental chemistry, episode, formation hydrocarbons, non-methane nox, organic-compounds, ozone ozone, pollution-urban potential, regional, strategy, tropospheric volatile @article{RN219, title = {Photochemical Ozone Pollution in the Valparaiso Region, Chile}, author = { R. Toro and C.S. Donoso and R.A. Seguel and R.G.E. Morales and M.A. Leiva}, url = {/brokenurl#<Go to ISI>://WOS:000332712300001}, doi = {10.1007/s11869-013-0218-7}, issn = {1873-9318}, year = {2014}, date = {2014-01-01}, journal = {Air Quality Atmosphere and Health}, volume = {7}, number = {1}, pages = {1-11}, abstract = {The Valparaiso Region is characterized by the presence of air sheds that modulate the general atmospheric circulation with local winds. The ozone concentration in the region increases from the west coast toward the mountainous area, where the concentrations of ozone precursors are lower. In this study, surface ozone (O-3), nitric oxide, nitrogen dioxide, nitrogen oxide (NO (x) ), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were measured at four sites, including two upwind urban sites (Via del Mar (VM) and Villa Alemana (VA)), an upwind suburban site (Quillota (QU)) and a downwind semirural site (Los Andes (LA)) during 01 March-07 April 2010. The purpose of this study is to improve our understanding of the photochemistry of ozone in urban and semirural areas of the Valparaiso Region and the transport of ozone pollution in downwind rural areas. The results show that, in the VM and VA sites, higher concentrations of ozone precursors, NO (x) , and VOCs, are observed in the early morning hours, which is related to emissions from vehicle traffic, while comparatively lower ozone precursor concentrations are observed in QU and LA. In contrast, higher ozone concentrations are found in LA and QU, and lower concentrations are found in VM and VA. VOC analysis was performed by gas chromatography, and the results show that the VOC composition in the studied sites is similar to and coincident with vehicle emissions. An ozone formation regime limited by VOCs is found in the area. The leading contributors to the ozone-forming potential were ethene, propene, xylene, and toluene, which are also anthropogenic species and account for more than 70 % of O-3 formation. Thus, benzenes-toluene-xylenes played the most important role in O-3 formation, followed by alkenes, alkanes, aromatic, biogenic, and alkynes during the study periods. The m-, p-xylene/ethylbenzene relation confirms the reception of aged air masses in LA. The results of the present study demonstrate that ozone pollution is a regional problem and that O-3 regional transport is associated with such pollution. Finally, the results indicate the need to adopt mitigating measures for ozone pollution that consider the reactivity characteristics of VOCs.}, keywords = {control emissions, environmental chemistry, episode, formation hydrocarbons, non-methane nox, organic-compounds, ozone ozone, pollution-urban potential, regional, strategy, tropospheric volatile}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } The Valparaiso Region is characterized by the presence of air sheds that modulate the general atmospheric circulation with local winds. The ozone concentration in the region increases from the west coast toward the mountainous area, where the concentrations of ozone precursors are lower. In this study, surface ozone (O-3), nitric oxide, nitrogen dioxide, nitrogen oxide (NO (x) ), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were measured at four sites, including two upwind urban sites (Via del Mar (VM) and Villa Alemana (VA)), an upwind suburban site (Quillota (QU)) and a downwind semirural site (Los Andes (LA)) during 01 March-07 April 2010. The purpose of this study is to improve our understanding of the photochemistry of ozone in urban and semirural areas of the Valparaiso Region and the transport of ozone pollution in downwind rural areas. The results show that, in the VM and VA sites, higher concentrations of ozone precursors, NO (x) , and VOCs, are observed in the early morning hours, which is related to emissions from vehicle traffic, while comparatively lower ozone precursor concentrations are observed in QU and LA. In contrast, higher ozone concentrations are found in LA and QU, and lower concentrations are found in VM and VA. VOC analysis was performed by gas chromatography, and the results show that the VOC composition in the studied sites is similar to and coincident with vehicle emissions. An ozone formation regime limited by VOCs is found in the area. The leading contributors to the ozone-forming potential were ethene, propene, xylene, and toluene, which are also anthropogenic species and account for more than 70 % of O-3 formation. Thus, benzenes-toluene-xylenes played the most important role in O-3 formation, followed by alkenes, alkanes, aromatic, biogenic, and alkynes during the study periods. The m-, p-xylene/ethylbenzene relation confirms the reception of aged air masses in LA. The results of the present study demonstrate that ozone pollution is a regional problem and that O-3 regional transport is associated with such pollution. Finally, the results indicate the need to adopt mitigating measures for ozone pollution that consider the reactivity characteristics of VOCs. |
2015 |
Filamentous Fungi from Extreme Environments as a Promising Source of Novel Bioactive Secondary Metabolites Artículo de revista Frontiers in Microbiology, 6 , 2015, ISSN: 1664-302x. |
2014 |
Photochemical Ozone Pollution in the Valparaiso Region, Chile Artículo de revista Air Quality Atmosphere and Health, 7 (1), pp. 1-11, 2014, ISSN: 1873-9318. |