iBB

External Thermal Insulation Composite Systems (ETICS) are frequently used to enhance the energy efficiency of the built environment. However, bio-colonization stains are often detected, causing cladding defacement and altering the building aesthetics. To address which microbiota could contribute to these biodeterioration related color/aesthetic anomalies, Cristina A. Viegas and Leonilde M. Moreira from iBB, in collaboration with researchers from CERIS/DECivil-IST and LNEC, identified the taxonomic diversity and distribution patterns of the microbial communities in stains present on the surface of ETICS facades in three residential sites in Lisbon. This study reveals diverse microbial communities assigned to taxa of the major microbial groups of heterotrophic bacteria, fungi, cyanobacteria, and microalgae (through DNA plastid detection) in color/aesthetic biodeterioration stains of ETICS facades, taking into consideration in-service environmental exposure, facade location/cardinal orientation and ETICS material composition. Results suggest the need to include additional microorganisms in the list of bio-susceptibility testing organisms in ETICS.

A new research project “CAPTURA- Use of functionalized particles for the enrichment and efficient detection of SARS-CoV-2 in clinical and environmental samples” has been recently awarded to IST by the Compete 2020 programme (Call 02/SAICT/2020 - SAICT, Projetos de IC&DT, Testar com Ciência). The project’s overarching goal is to detect SARS-CoV-2 in samples other than nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swabs, like urine, saliva and also in environmental samples, like residual waters. Efforts will be also mobilized to develop tests for the rapid detection of SARS-CoV-2 antigens. The project is a consortium of three research units of IST - iBB, the Center for Nuclear Sciences and Technologies and the Laboratory of Analysis of IST - and is headed by Leonilde Moreira from BSRG-iBB.

Within the cystic fibrosis (CF) lung, bacteria experience high-osmolarity conditions due to an ion unbalance resulting from defects in CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) protein activity in epithelial cells. Understanding how bacterial CF pathogens thrive in this environment might help the development of new therapeutic interventions to prevent chronic respiratory infections. In a recent publication in Journal of Bacteriology, researchers from BSRG-iBB led by Leonilde M. Moreira, in collaboration with Dr. Vaughn Cooper from University of Pittsburgh, USA, and Dr. Jörg Becker from Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, provide evidence that mutations in OmpR experience positive selection during the adaptation of Burkholderia to chronic infections of the CF airway, and these selective forces can be recapitulated in the laboratory. Characterization of OmpR shows that it is a major regulator of many traits related to cell envelope composition and central metabolism, in which loss-of-function mutants enable greater tolerance and growth under stress conditions but are costly for fitness under other conditions.

Mário Rui Santos will be defending his Ph D thesis in Biotechnology at Instituto Superior Técnico, monday the 22nd September 2014 (14 H, room PA3). During the last years, and under the supervision of Leonilde Moreira from BSRG-IBB and Dr Jorg Becker from Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Mário studied Sinorhizobium meliloti, a Gram-negative nitrogen-fixing bacterium that forms a symbiotic relationship with legumes from the genera Medicago, Melilotus and Trigonella, generating new plant organs termed root nodules. His work focused specifically on the roles played by certain S. meliloti proteins on root-nodule symbiosis. The title of the thesis is “Sinorhizobium meliloti outer membrane protein TolC and the transcriptional repressor EmrR are bacterial determinants of root-nodule symbiosis”. 

Endogenous human brain tissue is not easily available for studying neurodevelopment and neurodegenerative diseases. However, human pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) have been used to generate a variety of glial and neuronal cells of the central nervous system. Still, reproducible protocols for generating in vitro models of the human cerebellum are scarce. In this context, Silva et al. describe the scalable production of human PSC-derived cerebellar organoids using single-use vertical-wheel bioreactors. The transcriptomic profile of cerebellar organoids derived under dynamic conditions demonstrates a faster cerebellar differentiation combined with significant enrichment of extracellular matrix and upregulation of transcripts involved in angiogenesis when compared with the static protocol. The authors anticipate that large-scale production of cerebellar organoids may help developing models for drug screening, toxicological tests and studying pathological pathways involved in cerebellar degeneration.

A training course for secondary school teachers entiled "The admirable world of Microbes: small in size, great in action" was carried out at Instituto Superior Técnico (IST) on the 17 and 22 september within the frame of the commemorations of the International Microorganism Day 2018. The course was accredited by the Training Center of the Ordem dos Biólogos (OB) and aimed at updating and reinforcing theoretical knowledge and practical skills in the area of Microbiology and Biotechnology. The 12-hour training included theoretical (4 hours), computational (2 hours) and laboratory (4 hours) modules as well as a roundtable discussion (2 hours). The course was organized and taught by Arsénio Fialho, Cristina Viegas and Leonilde Moreira from the Bioengineering Department of IST and BSRG-iBB. It was attended by 22 teachers from schools all over the country. The initiative was supported by the Portuguese Society of Microbiology (SPM), OB and IST.

The project "LactoSynt: Lactic Acid Bacteria as Cell Factories: a Synthetic Biology Approach for Plasmid DNA and Recombinant Protein Production" has been recommended for funding by FCT (2017 Call for SR&TD Project Grants). The goal of LactoSynt is to engineer lactic acid bacteria and plasmid vectors in order to develop a flexible platform for biomolecule production. Applications in the pharmaceutical field (DNA vaccines, recombinant proteins) are envisaged. The project, which falls within the scientific area of Medical Biotechnology, is headed by Gabriel Monteiro from BERG-iBB and Leonilde Moreira from BSRG-iBB.