Segunda entrada Febrero 2009

En cuanto al progreso de mi investegacion pieson que el logrado muchos de mis objetivos propuestos al principio del semestre. Hasta el momento tengo como un 8O% de los objetivos ya realizados completamente. Mis objetivos para este semestre eran continuar con la identificacion de los 2 bioprospectos aislados. Pude extraer ADN del microorganismo al cual se habia hecho un poco dificil la extraccion, por lo cual pude continuar con la extraccion de ADN de ambos desconocidos y correr un PCR para amplificar el 16Sr RNA. Al correr la gel para ver el producto de PCR se pudo observar amplificacion y por lo tanto ahora estamos en la etapa de mandar estos productos a secuenciar. Hasta el momento no he tenido ninguna dificultad con la investigacion.

Abstract:

Searching for bioprospects that degrades complex substrates as targets for Genetic and metabolic engineering

 

Looking for an alternative energy source has been an important area of research during the past few years. This investigation involves the research of bacteria with the capacity to produce enzymes with potential use and that can degrade different complex carbon or substrates to produce new energy sources. Biofuels, are products acquire from biological origin that can be obtained in a removable manner and can reduce the cost of the fuels and the contamination of the environment. The microorganisms that are taken in consideration for this research are bacteria that have a high capability to degrade a variety of complex organic compounds such as Chitin, Starch, and Cellulose. The samplings included cultivable and culture independent approaches from different areas of Puerto Rico and from the metagenomic libraries available in the laboratory. Minimal media, supplemented with the respective carbon source, was spread with a sample coming from a serial diluted source.  After incubation, the putative complex carbon degrading microbes were isolated, and the initial morphological, biochemical and molecular characterization has been performed.  To date, two potential bioprospect have been isolated. The macroscopic and microscopic studies were made and indicate that the isolates have white pigmented colonies, which microscopically are gram-positive, rods with variable size, and at least one of them was capable of producing endospores.  Electron microscopy studies confirmed the differences in size, but did not find any special structures.  There have being several optimization strategies performed in order to isolate DNA from the microbial candidates, due to fact that no DNA was isolated from them after using conventional extraction methods. We will be focusing on this stage of the research in complete the characterization of the complex carbon degrading bioprospects, and to test, characterize and analyze the gene encoding for the enzymatic activity.