Polar Marine Bacteria: From Physiology to Biotechnological Applications

A special issue of Marine Drugs (ISSN 1660-3397). This special issue belongs to the section "Marine Biotechnology Related to Drug Discovery or Production".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 14 February 2025 | Viewed by 4906

Special Issue Editor


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Department of Chemical Sciences, Federico II University of Naples, Complesso Universitario Monte S.- Angelo, Via Cintia, Naples, 80126, Italy
Interests: microbial physiology; microbial biotechnology; fermentation chemistry; drug discovery; prokaryotic molecular biology
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Polar marine bacteria face challenging conditions and to survive in such extreme conditions, they have developed specific mechanisms. The study of these mechanisms is stimulating from both a basic research and biotechnological perspective. The environmental selective pressure has driven the evolution of metabolic pathways responsible for synthesizing numerous enzymes, many of which are unique and possess intriguing biological properties. Furthermore, these bacteria have shown remarkable potential as sources of diverse extracellular metabolites with various biological activities, such as antibiotics, antitumor agents, surfactants, antibiofilm agents, and more. Despite the established interest in these bacteria, their full potential remains largely unexplored.

For this Special Issue, we invite researchers to submit reviews and original research articles that demonstrate new physiological and applicative studies on polar marine bacteria. We particularly welcome articles focusing on the discovery of bioactive molecules and cold-adapted enzymes, as well as the innovative use of these bacteria in biotechnological applications.

Prof. Dr. Ermenegilda Parrilli
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • bioactive molecules
  • psychrophilic enzymes
  • marine bacteria
  • metabolomics
  • macromolecules
  • marine natural products
  • cold adaptation

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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20 pages, 4397 KiB  
Article
Functional Genomics of a Collection of Gammaproteobacteria Isolated from Antarctica
by Michele Giovannini, Walter Vieri, Emanuele Bosi, Christopher Riccardi, Angelina Lo Giudice, Renato Fani, Marco Fondi and Elena Perrin
Mar. Drugs 2024, 22(6), 238; https://doi.org/10.3390/md22060238 - 23 May 2024
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Abstract
Antarctica, one of the most extreme environments on Earth, hosts diverse microbial communities. These microbes have evolved and adapted to survive in these hostile conditions, but knowledge on the molecular mechanisms underlying this process remains limited. The Italian Collection of Antarctic Bacteria ( [...] Read more.
Antarctica, one of the most extreme environments on Earth, hosts diverse microbial communities. These microbes have evolved and adapted to survive in these hostile conditions, but knowledge on the molecular mechanisms underlying this process remains limited. The Italian Collection of Antarctic Bacteria (Collezione Italiana Batteri Antartici (CIBAN)), managed by the University of Messina, represents a valuable repository of cold-adapted bacterial strains isolated from various Antarctic environments. In this study, we sequenced and analyzed the genomes of 58 marine Gammaproteobacteria strains from the CIBAN collection, which were isolated during Italian expeditions from 1990 to 2005. By employing genome-scale metrics, we taxonomically characterized these strains and assigned them to four distinct genera: Pseudomonas, Pseudoalteromonas, Shewanella, and Psychrobacter. Genome annotation revealed a previously untapped functional potential, including secondary metabolite biosynthetic gene clusters and antibiotic resistance genes. Phylogenomic analyses provided evolutionary insights, while assessment of cold-shock protein presence shed light on adaptation mechanisms. Our study emphasizes the significance of CIBAN as a resource for understanding Antarctic microbial life and its biotechnological potential. The genomic data unveil new horizons for insight into bacterial existence in Antarctica. Full article
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Review

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29 pages, 1672 KiB  
Review
Whole-Cell Biosensor for Iron Monitoring as a Potential Tool for Safeguarding Biodiversity in Polar Marine Environments
by Marzia Calvanese, Caterina D’Angelo, Maria Luisa Tutino and Concetta Lauro
Mar. Drugs 2024, 22(7), 299; https://doi.org/10.3390/md22070299 - 28 Jun 2024
Viewed by 3309
Abstract
Iron is a key micronutrient essential for various essential biological processes. As a consequence, alteration in iron concentration in seawater can deeply influence marine biodiversity. In polar marine environments, where environmental conditions are characterized by low temperatures, the role of iron becomes particularly [...] Read more.
Iron is a key micronutrient essential for various essential biological processes. As a consequence, alteration in iron concentration in seawater can deeply influence marine biodiversity. In polar marine environments, where environmental conditions are characterized by low temperatures, the role of iron becomes particularly significant. While iron limitation can negatively influence primary production and nutrient cycling, excessive iron concentrations can lead to harmful algal blooms and oxygen depletion. Furthermore, the growth of certain phytoplankton species can be increased in high-iron-content environments, resulting in altered balance in the marine food web and reduced biodiversity. Although many chemical/physical methods are established for inorganic iron quantification, the determination of the bio-available iron in seawater samples is more suitably carried out using marine microorganisms as biosensors. Despite existing challenges, whole-cell biosensors offer other advantages, such as real-time detection, cost-effectiveness, and ease of manipulation, making them promising tools for monitoring environmental iron levels in polar marine ecosystems. In this review, we discuss fundamental biosensor designs and assemblies, arranging host features, transcription factors, reporter proteins, and detection methods. The progress in the genetic manipulation of iron-responsive regulatory and reporter modules is also addressed to the optimization of the biosensor performance, focusing on the improvement of sensitivity and specificity. Full article
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