[AVX Seminar] Cyanobacteria secondary metabolites: toxicological and biotechnological implications.

AVX Seminar

Title: Cyanobacteria secondary metabolites: toxicological and biotechnological implications.

Speaker: Vitor Vasconcelos

Affiliation : Interdisciplinary Center of Marine and Environmental Research (CIIMAR/CIMAR), Department of Biology Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto

Abstract:

Marine microbes are amongst the oldest organisms living in our planet and have witnessed the whole range of evolution on Earth. We know very little about marine microorganisms’s biodiversity and that with recent advances in genomics and robotics we will have a sea of opportunities to unravel. Microorganisms play a crucial role on ecosystem dynamics, being part of all important nutrient cycles and being the base of many trophic chains. Amongst marine microorganisms, cyanobacteria use sun light to produce photosynthesis due to the photosynthetic pigments they have, being considered precursors of eucariotic algae and plants.  Cyanobacteria  are very diverse organisms in terms of morphology, habitat and ecology and are well known for the diversity of secondary metabolites that they produce either when living isolated or in symbiosis.  Among those metabolites, toxins are extensively studied due to the harmful effects they cause on the ecosystems and on human health. Cyanotoxins can have neurotoxic, hepatotoxic, cytotoxic and dermatotoxic properties, being exposure to humans via drinking water, dermal contact during recreation or via food contaminated with the toxins.  Apart from producing toxins, and due to their ancestral origin, ecological and biochemical diversity, cyanobacteria are a prolific source of compounds with potential biotechnological applications, namely in the pharmacological field. A wide range of secondary metabolites exhibiting pharmaceutical properties such as antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, anti-inflammatory and anticancer  have been described. Bioactive compounds from cyanobacteria may also have allelopathic activity with potential use to control algal blooms or as antifouling in the marine environment.  Cyanobacteria extracts can also prevent the development of some invertebrates and so they can be candidates to develop antifouling agents that are environmentally friendly.  The potential of cyanobacteria as source of new bioactive compounds is enormous, with the advantage of being applicable in many different areas of biotechnology, with many industrial applications.