Characterization of new estereses from an acid mine drainage formation

Microorganisms thriving in extreme environments, including from highly acidic environments, are of great industrial interest. Particularly interesting are Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) systems, extremely acidic and metal-rich formations inhabited by low-complexity communities of acidophiles, but their en...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Vidal Ramón, Paula
Tipo de recurso: otro
Fecha de publicación:2021
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/374986
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/374986
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Acid mine drainage
Acidophilic bacteria
Esterase
Biodiversity
Descripción
Sumario:Microorganisms thriving in extreme environments, including from highly acidic environments, are of great industrial interest. Particularly interesting are Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) systems, extremely acidic and metal-rich formations inhabited by low-complexity communities of acidophiles, but their enzymes are mostly uncharacterized. In this study we characterized nine esterases with closest match within uncultured acidophilic Actinobacteria, Acidobacteria, Acidiphilium, and Proteobacteria inhabiting Los Rueldos AMD site, an unique AMD formation in in northwestern Spain. They exhibited an average identity from 56 to 99% to homologous proteins in public databases, thus reflecting functional novelty associated to a specialized acidophilic community. The substrate specificity tested using a set of 58 chemically and structurally different esters, and optimal pH for activity, were determined using purified proteins. Results revealed some of the enzymes do show characteristics relevant for the degradation of esters that are commonly used in synthetic plastics. The pH results showed that optimal activity ranged from 5.5 to 10, values which significantly differ from that in Los Rueldos AMD site (pH ∼2). Together, these data provide first insights into the characteristics of enzymes from acidophilic microorganisms that inhabit Los Rueldos AMD sites.