Vida en el extremo: Novedoso abordaje para la exploración genómica y fisiológica de microorganismos fotosintéticos extremófilos

Some extremophilic microorganisms are capable of living in the most extreme environments on
Earth, from toxic hot springs to high altitude deserts, withstanding conditions of high salinity,
pressure, presence of heavy metals, among others. Despite the difficulty of their cultivation in the
laboratory, many scientists around the world have investigated it and have proposed them as a new
generation of biofactories, also as candidates to innovate and renew the enzymes currently used in
the industry. Extremophilic microorganisms have had to adapt their metabolic machinery to special
conditions on Earth, making their molecules different from those most commonly studied and
possessing great versatility in their applications. Especially, photosynthetic extremophiles
(cyanobacteria and microalgae) are ancestral microorganisms with high energetic efficiency for
conversion into biomolecules of biotechnological interest. Enzymes on industry are required to
maintain their activity in conditions similar to extreme conditions and, in the area of biomolecules,
the discovery of different chemical structures and conformations with better bioactivity is required.
Therefore, photosynthetic extremophilic microorganisms represent a underexplored genetic
resource with high biotechnological potential. The limited exploration of extreme habitats is due, in
part, to the high cost of technologies for a thorough understanding of their biology. As a result, only
two species of extremophilic microalgae are currently in commercial use (Dunalliela and
Arthrospira). Recently, the ITCR acquired cutting-edge technologies that allow the sequencing of
complete genomes and physiological studies of photosynthesis in aquatic systems, determinations
that were impossible before. With the optimization and implementation of these technologies, this
project aims to develop an innovative approach to the bioprospecting and characterization of
promising extremophilic microorganisms with viability for biotechnological applications, using as a
model the Cyanidium sp. strain of our microalgae collection, which was isolated from Costa Rican
hydrothermal sources. This work will contribute with the understanding of the genomic and
physiological mechanisms that allow the survival of this microorganism, as well as the
characterization of its biotechnological potential, generating in turn a service for the evaluation of
photosynthetic behavior and next-generation whole-genome sequencing at ITCR.

Caracterizar el genoma y la respuesta fotosintética de un
microorganismo fotoautótrofo implementando un novedoso abordaje para la
bioprospección de extremófilos

Biotecnología Ambiental