Next Article in Journal
Mycobacterium smegmatis But Not Mycobacterium avium subsp. hominissuis Causes Increased Expression of the Long Non-Coding RNA MEG3 in THP-1-Derived Human Macrophages and Associated Decrease of TGF-β
Previous Article in Journal
Refined versus Extra Virgin Olive Oil High-Fat Diet Impact on Intestinal Microbiota of Mice and Its Relation to Different Physiological Variables
Previous Article in Special Issue
Into the Thermus Mobilome: Presence, Diversity and Recent Activities of Insertion Sequences Across Thermus spp.
 
 
Font Type:
Arial Georgia Verdana
Font Size:
Aa Aa Aa
Line Spacing:
Column Width:
Background:
Editorial

Editorial for the Special Issue: Thermophiles and Thermozymes

by
María-Isabel González-Siso
Grupo EXPRELA, Centro de Investigacións Científicas Avanzadas (CICA), Facultade de Ciencias, Universidade da Coruña, 15071 A Coruña, Spain
Microorganisms 2019, 7(3), 62; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms7030062
Submission received: 22 February 2019 / Accepted: 22 February 2019 / Published: 27 February 2019
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermophiles and Thermozymes)
Heat-loving microorganisms or thermophiles arouse noticeable scientific interest nowadays, not only with the aim to elucidate the mystery of life at high temperatures, but also due to the huge field of biotechnological applications of the enzymes they produce or thermozymes, able to function under industrial harsh conditions.
This Special Issue contains nine papers that study diverse aspects of thermophiles biology and their enzymes.
Two research articles deal with the genomics of thermophilic microorganisms. Blesa et al. [1] describe the characterization of active and inactive insertion sequences spanning the genus Thermus. This work represents an interesting contribution both to the construction of new genetic engineering tools and to the knowledge of the genomic plasticity and capacity of adaptation of thermophilic microorganisms. Schouw et al. [2] analyze the genome of a fermentative new strain isolated from a deep-sea hydrothermal vent, which was reassigned to the genus Vallitalea and designated V. guaymasensis strain L81, showing interesting features for industrial application. Furthermore, the potential of these marine ecosystems for the bioprospection of new enzymes and antimicrobials is revealed in this work.
Four other research articles deal with different aspects of thermozymes. J.M. González [3] presents a structural analysis of substrate tunnels in two types of enzymes (with low and high tunneling) from microorganisms living optimally at 15 °C to 100 °C. Molecular tunnel dimensions are reduced with increasing optimum growth temperatures, minimizing unnecessary spaces within the molecule. From this work, molecular channeling appears as a mechanism that helps to understand how thermophiles are adapted to live under high temperatures. Álvarez-Cao et al. [4], using the lipase LipE from Candida rugosa, show that oligomerization-dimerization is another structural feature that causes protein stabilization against temperature and pH, also expanding substrate specificity on soluble substrates. Domain swapping is the mechanism proposed to explain LipE homodimerization. Bibra et al. [5] report the statistical optimization of the production of a thermostable xylanase from a Geobacillus sp. strain isolated from a gold mine, its comparison (favorable) with commercial counterparts for lignocellulosic biomass hydrolysis, and the use of the strain in co-culture for ethanol fermentation of the biomass. Gomri et al. [6] depict the characterization of a new acid protease produced extracellularly by a thermophilic bacterium that was isolated from an Algerian hot spring and affiliated with Brevibacillus thermoruber species. The purified 32-F38 protease resulted to be thermostable and highly stable in the presence of different detergents and solvents, suggesting potential biotechnological applications.
Three reviews complete this monograph. The one by Hori et al. [7] is a comprehensive study about modified nucleosides in tRNA and tRNA modification enzymes from thermophiles, in view of strategies to stabilize tRNA structures including RNA-binding proteins and polyamines. The one by Finch and Kim [8] focuses on the application of thermophilic proteins as scaffolds for protein engineering, proposed due to their robustness and evolvability, without forgetting the trade-off between protein activity and stability. Finally, the one by Escuder-Rodríguez et al. [9] introduces the metagenomics approach, in this case for the search of thermostable cellulases, a complex group of enzymes which is here unraveled.
Altogether these papers allow us to go one step forward to explain how the thermophilic microorganisms and their enzymes are stable and functional at high temperatures, and to envisage new biotechnological applications and fields for bioprospection.

Acknowledgments

Thank you to all the authors and reviewers for their excellent contributions to this Special Issue. Also thank you to the Microorganisms Editorial Office for their professional assistance and continuous support.

Conflicts of Interest

The author declares no conflict of interest.

References

  1. Blesa, A.; Sánchez, M.; Sacristán-Horcajada, E.; González-de la Fuente, S.; Peiró, R.; Berenguer, J. Into the Thermus Mobilome: Presence, Diversity and Recent Activities of Insertion Sequences Across Thermus spp. Microorganisms 2019, 7, 25. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
  2. Schouw, A.; Vulcano, F.; Roalkvam, I.; Hocking, W.; Reeves, E.; Stokke, R.; Bødtker, G.; Steen, I. Genome Analysis of Vallitalea guaymasensis Strain L81 Isolated from a Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vent System. Microorganisms 2018, 6, 63. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
  3. Gonzalez, J. Molecular Tunnels in Enzymes and Thermophily: A Case Study on the Relationship to Growth Temperature. Microorganisms 2018, 6, 109. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
  4. Álvarez-Cao, M.; González, R.; Pernas, M.; Rúa, M. Contribution of the Oligomeric State to the Thermostability of Isoenzyme 3 from Candida rugosa. Microorganisms 2018, 6, 108. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
  5. Bibra, M.; Kunreddy, V.; Sani, R. Thermostable Xylanase Production by Geobacillus sp. Strain DUSELR13, and Its Application in Ethanol Production with Lignocellulosic Biomass. Microorganisms 2018, 6, 93. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
  6. Gomri, M.; Rico-Díaz, A.; Escuder-Rodríguez, J.; El Moulouk Khaldi, T.; González-Siso, M.; Kharroub, K. Production and Characterization of an Extracellular Acid Protease from Thermophilic Brevibacillus sp. OA30 Isolated from an Algerian Hot Spring. Microorganisms 2018, 6, 31. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
  7. Hori, H.; Kawamura, T.; Awai, T.; Ochi, A.; Yamagami, R.; Tomikawa, C.; Hirata, A. Transfer RNA Modification Enzymes from Thermophiles and Their Modified Nucleosides in tRNA. Microorganisms 2018, 6, 110. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
  8. Finch, A.; Kim, J. Thermophilic Proteins as Versatile Scaffolds for Protein Engineering. Microorganisms 2018, 6, 97. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
  9. Escuder-Rodríguez, J.; DeCastro, M.; Cerdán, M.; Rodríguez-Belmonte, E.; Becerra, M.; González-Siso, M. Cellulases from Thermophiles Found by Metagenomics. Microorganisms 2018, 6, 66. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

González-Siso, M.-I. Editorial for the Special Issue: Thermophiles and Thermozymes. Microorganisms 2019, 7, 62. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms7030062

AMA Style

González-Siso M-I. Editorial for the Special Issue: Thermophiles and Thermozymes. Microorganisms. 2019; 7(3):62. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms7030062

Chicago/Turabian Style

González-Siso, María-Isabel. 2019. "Editorial for the Special Issue: Thermophiles and Thermozymes" Microorganisms 7, no. 3: 62. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms7030062

APA Style

González-Siso, M. -I. (2019). Editorial for the Special Issue: Thermophiles and Thermozymes. Microorganisms, 7(3), 62. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms7030062

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Metrics

Back to TopTop