Banca de QUALIFICAÇÃO: MARIA JOSE DE OLIVEIRA PESSOA

Uma banca de QUALIFICAÇÃO de MESTRADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : MARIA JOSE DE OLIVEIRA PESSOA
DATE: 23/03/2026
TIME: 09:00
LOCAL: Videoconferência
TITLE:

NATURAL PRODUCTS IN THE FIGHT AGAINST ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE: POTENTIAL OF BACTERIA OF THE GENERA BACILLUS AND BREVIBACILLUS AND A REVIEW OF CYCLIC PEPTIDES OF THE SURUGAMIDE CLASS.

KEY WORDS:

antimicrobial resistance; microbial natural products; surugamides; genome mining; Bacillus; Brevibacillus; biosynthetic gene clusters

PAGES: 100
BIG AREA: Ciências Exatas e da Terra
AREA: Química
SUBÁREA: Química Orgânica
SPECIALTY: Química dos Produtos Naturais
SUMMARY:

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) represents one of the greatest threats to global public health, requiring the discovery of new bioactive compounds capable of overcoming bacterial resistance mechanisms. In this context, microbial natural products constitute a privileged source of structurally diverse molecules with therapeutic potential and have been responsible for the development of several drugs currently available on the market. Among natural products with antimicrobial properties, non-ribosomal peptides stand out, such as surugamides, a family of cyclic peptides produced by species of the genus Streptomyces, which exhibit high structural diversity and several biological activities. Thus, the objective of this study was to investigate the potential of microbial natural products with antimicrobial activity through the genomic prospecting of Bacillus and Brevibacillus strains, as well as to conduct a chemical, spectroscopic, and biological review of peptides belonging to the surugamide class. The literature review on surugamides addresses their structural diversity, biosynthesis mediated by non-ribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) systems, chemical synthesis strategies, structural characterization methods, and biological activities reported in the literature between 2013 and 2025. Genome mining analyses explored the biosynthetic potential of 21 bacterial isolates belonging to the genera Bacillus and Brevibacillus, obtained from petroleum-contaminated environments. For this purpose, genomic mining analyses were performed using bioinformatics tools such as antiSMASH and PRISM, in addition to comparative pangenome analyses, aiming to identify biosynthetic gene clusters associated with the production of secondary metabolites with antimicrobial potential. The results indicated the presence of several clusters related to the biosynthesis of non-ribosomal peptides, polyketides, and ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides, highlighting the high metabolic potential of these strains for the production of bioactive compounds. These findings expand the prospects for the discovery of new drugs derived from these bacteria, enabling research strategies guided by efficient and strategic genomic approaches, with potential application in sustainable processes for the discovery of microbial- derived bioactive metabolites.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Externa à Instituição - ADRIANA MARINA E SILVA PARENTE - UFRN
Interno - 1803692 - FABRICIO GAVA MENEZES
Externa à Instituição - JOYCE KELLY DO ROSÁRIO DA SILVA - UFPA
Presidente - 1569526 - RENATA MENDONÇA ARAUJO