iBB

Candida species colonize different body sites in healthy hosts but these yeasts are also opportunistic pathogens when an alteration in human microbial defenses occur. The high mortality rate of Candida bloodstream infections (candidemia) is related to their ability to develop resistance against multiple antifungal agents. In particular, two drug:H+ antiporters of family 1 (DHA1), Mdr1p and Flu1p, are known to underly the azole-resistance phenotype observed in many C. albicans clinical isolates.

In a recent paper published on the journal Genomics, iBB researchers of the Biological Sciences Research Group (BSRG) identified the whole set of DHA1 proteins encoded in the genomes of 31 hemiascomycetous strains, corresponding to 25 yeast species. Using phylogenetic tree building methodologies and comparative genomic approaches, the evolutionary history of the DHA1 encoding genes in the Hemiascomycetes was reconstructed, revealing that sixteen DHA1 lineages were conserved during pathogenic Candida species evolution. The evolution of C. albicans MDR1 and FLU1 genes and C. dubliniensis, C. tropicalis and C. parapsilosis MDR1 genes was detailed and gene duplication and loss were found to be major driving forces underlying the evolution of the DHA1 genes in Candida species.

Prof. Francisco Morales from the Department of Chemical Engineering and the Environmental and Chemical Technologies Institute (ITQUIMA) of the University of Castilla-La Mancha is currently visiting IST and BERG-IBB (1st July to the 31st July 2014). Francisco is interested in learning about the education activities carried out at IST and about the research being performed in the areas of Wastewater treatment, Anaerobic digestion, Biosolid treatment and Biotreatment of contaminated gas streams. 

The XX Jornadas de Biologia de Leveduras Professor Nicolau van Uden were held at IST, from 11 to 12 July 2014. The Organizing Committee was led by researchers from the BSRG-IBB, and included also members from BioFIG and INESC-ID. This edition of the event included more than 100 registered participants, representing the majority of the Portuguese Yeast community, and a few colleagues from Spain and Brazil. It covered hot topics of Yeast Biology and Biotechnology, from Yeast Physiology and Evolution to its applications in Health, Energy, Environmental and Food Biotechnology.

Photo details: Van Uden Microbiology Laboratory members and staff, Gulbenkian Institute of Science, 1990.

 "Biennial report of the activities of the Biological Sciences Research Group of the Institute for Biotechnology and Bioengineering (Lisbon, Portugal), years 2012-2013."

"The Tenth International Conference on Data Integration in the Life Sciences 2014 (DILS2014) will be held at Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), Lisbon, Portugal, on July 17-18, 2014. The conference aim is to foster discussion, exchange, and innovation in research and development in the areas of data integration and data management for the life sciences. Researchers and professionals from biology, medicine, computer science and engineering are invited to share their knowledge and experience."

The Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences (IBB) is a research unit at Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, aiming at cutting edge research and strategic advanced education in fundamental and applied biological sciences, biotechnology and bioengineering.

The Doctoral Programme on Biotechnology and Biosciences, a collaborative effort between IST and iBB has been recently approved by  FCT after peer-review by an international panel of experts.This new FCT PhD programme will enable iBB to expand its research and educational activities, complementing the graduate efforts already in place under the scope of the PhD programs in Bioengineering-MIT Portugal and Bioengineering - Cell Therapies and Regenerative Medicine.

Early this year, the newest version of the YEASTRACT database was released in a paper in Nucleic Acids Research, resulting from the effort of a team of researchers from the BSRG/IBB and the KDBIO/INESC-ID. The YEASTRACT information system has been an important tool for thousands of users from the Yeast and Systems Biology communities for the past decade. Its new version offers unprecedented tools for the analysis and prediction of the regulatory control in budding yeast, at gene and genomic levels. Click on title to learn more.

Photo details: Yeast cell membrane visualized with RFP and GFP fluorescent markers, Masur, 2006, GNU Free Documentation license.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Yeast_membrane_proteins.jpg

Annual report of the activities of the Bioengineering Research Group of the Institute for Biotechnology and Bioengineering (Lisbon, Portugal), year 2013.

"The goal of ELIXIR, the European Life-Science Infrastructure for Biological Information, is to operate and manage collections of large amounts of biological data produced in the life sciences. ELIXIR integrates research data from around Europe and makes it available to all scientists, in all research fields, thus facilitating new discoveries and advances in key areas such as medicine, agriculture, biotechnology and the environment."

Photo details: Mouse cDNA Microarray, National Cancer Institute, Public Domain. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mouse_cdna_microarray.jpg

The 4th International Conference on Bio-Sensing Technology will continue to bring together leaders from industry and academia to exchange and share their experiences, present research results, explore collaborations, with the aim of developing new projects and exploiting new technology for bio-sensing applications.