CBMA

Optimization of Pseudomonas sp. M1 as a biocatalyst of myrcene and related plant-derived volatiles using Synthetic Biology: in collaboration with Prof. Víctor de Lorenzo (CNB-CSIC, Madrid) and funded by FCT. The research envisages the exploitation of the enzymatic repertoire of the soil isolate Pseudomonas sp. M1, focused on the ability to metabolize myrcene, a component of essential oils from a variety of plants that is widely used in industrial applications. Importantly, M1 strain is the only well described bacterium able to use myrcene as sole C-source, holding, therefore, great potential as a source of novel biomolecules (as a result of biotransformation by myrcene-specialized machinery) with enhanced biotechnologically-relevant properties. The project aims ultimately the establishment of Pseudomonas sp. M1 strain as a biological chassis for the design of M1 cell-factories à la carte for specialized biotransformation of plant-derived volatiles, by using a systems biology approach to generate the necessary knowledge to design a suitable Synthetic Biology strategy aiming to reduce non-essential genomic burden and optimize M1 as biocatalyst.

P. Soares-Castro, P. Montenegro-Silva, H. J. Heipieper and P. M. Santos. 2017. Functional characterization of a 28-kb catabolic island from Pseudomonas sp. M1 involved in biotransformation of ß-myrcene and related plant-derived volatiles. Appl Environ Microbiol. doi: 10.1128/AEM.03112-16

P. Soares-Castro and P. M. Santos. 2014. Deciphering the genome repertoire of Pseudomonas sp. M1 toward ß-myrcene biotransformation. Genome Biol Evol. 7(1):1-17. doi: 10.1093/gbe/evu254.

Current project:

PSEUDOCAT: Optimization of Pseudomonas sp. M1 as a biocatalyst of myrcene and related plant-derived volatiles using Synthetic Biology (SFRH/BD/76894/2011)

Collaboration with other projects:

CETSENTI (RECI/AAG-GLO/0470/2012) - Cetaceans as marine ecosystem health sentinels: from July 2013 up to now.

Immunomics-Bcc (PTDC/BBB-BIO/1958/2012) - Exploitation of immunogenic proteins of the Burkholderia cepacia complex to design new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies: from April 2013 up to now.

Projects:

BIOMYR (PTDC/EBB-BIO/104980/2008) - Towards the metabolic engineering of beta-myrcene pathway of Pseudomonas sp. M1: functional genomics and structural biochemistry approaches: from July 2010 to January 2012

MSc in Molecular Genetics from September 2009 to September 2011:
Thesis entitled “Tailored strategies exploring genomic data from different Pseudomonas isolates”. Whole-genome sequencing by NGS technologies and functional genomics approaches were used to characterize the genomic catalogue of several Pseudomonas spp.: clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa from Hospital de Braga regarding the relationship between genomic plasticity and pathophysiology, and Pseudomonas sp. M1 regarding its potential as source of fine-chemicals and novel enzymes for biotechnological applications. Performed at CBMA, Department of Bioloby of University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, under the supervision of Prof. Pedro Santos

Key Publications:

P. Soares-Castro, P. Montenegro-Silva, H. J. Heipieper and P. M. Santos. 2017. Functional characterization of a 28-kb catabolic island from Pseudomonas sp. M1 involved in biotransformation of ß-myrcene and related plant-derived volatiles. Appl Environ Microbiol. doi: 10.1128/AEM.03112-16

P. Soares-Castro and P. M. Santos. 2014. Deciphering the genome repertoire of Pseudomonas sp. M1 toward ß-myrcene biotransformation. Genome Biol Evol. 7(1):1-17. doi: 10.1093/gbe/evu254.

P. Soares-Castro and P. M. Santos. 2013. Towards the Description of the Genome Catalogue of Pseudomonas sp. Strain M1. Genome Announc. 1(1):pii:e00146-12. doi: 10.1128/genomeA.00146-12

Other Publications:

F. Godoy-Vitorino, A. Rodriguez-Hilario, A. L. Alves, F. Gonçalves, B. Cabrera-Colon, C. S. Mesquita, P. Soares-Castro, M. Ferreira, A. Marçalo, J. Vingada, C. Eira, P. M. Santos. 2016. The microbiome of a striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) stranded in Portugal. Research in Microbiology. doi: 10.1016/j.resmic.2016.08.004;

P. Soares-Castro, D. Marques, S. Demyanchuk, A. Faustino and P. M. Santos. 2011. Draft genome sequences of two Pseudomonas aeruginosa clinical isolates with different antibiotic susceptibilities. J Bacteriol. 193(19):5573. doi: 10.1128/JB.05446-11.

Mesquita CS, Soares-Castro P, Santos PM (2013). Pseudomonas aeruginosa: phenotypic flexibility and antimicrobial resistance. In Mendez-Vilas A, eds. Microbial pathogens and strategies for combating them: science, technology and education (Vol. 1, pp. 650-665). Formatex Research Center

Oral Communications:

Soares-Castro P and Pedro M. Santos. (2015). Pseudomonas-based chassis towards à la carte biotransformation of plant-derived volatiles. XXXIX Portuguese Genetics Conference, University of Minho. Braga.

Soares-Castro P and Santos PM. (2013). Towards the optimization of Pseudomonas sp. M1 as a biocatalyst using Synthetic Biology. DBIO Seminars. CBMA, Department of Biology of University of Minho. Braga

Soares-Castro P and Santos PM. (2011). Towards the metabolic engineering of myrcene pathway of Pseudomonas sp. M1 using an integrated omic approach. Microbial Genetics and Ecology (BAGECO) 2011. Corfu.

Soares-Castro P and Santos PM. (2010). Exploring the biotechnological potential of Pseudomonas sp. M1 using high-throughput sequencing technology. XVII Congresso Nacional de Bioquímica. Oporto. 

Poster in conferences:

Soares-Castro P and Santos PM. (2013). An integrated omics approach to set Pseudomonas sp. M1 as a multipurpose biotech tool towards plant-derived volatiles. Pseudomonas Conference 2013. Lausanne

Mesquita CS, Soares-Castro P, Faustino A, Fialho A, Winstanley C and Santos PM. (2013). Phenotypic characterization and comparative genomics of two Pseudomonas aeruginosa clinical isolates. Pseudomonas Conference 2013. Lausanne

Soares-Castro P and Santos PM. (2011). An integrated omic approach towards the metabolic engineering of myrcene pathway of Pseudomonas sp. M1. Microbiotec11. Braga (best poster award from the panel).

Soares-Castro P, Marques D, Demyanchuk S, Faustino A and Santos PM. (2011). Comparative genomics of two Pseudomonas aeruginosa clinical isolates to elucidate the composition of their mobilomes. Microbiotec11. Braga.

Soares-Castro P, Marques D, Demyanchuk S, Faustino A and Santos PM. (2011). Insights into the accessory genome of two Pseudomonas aeruginosa clinical isolates using comparative genomics. Microbial Genetics and Ecology (BAGECO) 2011. Corfu.