Introdução. A resistência bacteriana é facilitada pela pressão seletiva do uso de antimicrobianos na clínica e em outras atividades, como a agricultura e pecuária, além de poder ser disseminada para a natureza por meio do lançamento inadequado do esgoto ou pela aplicação do lodo de esgoto na agricultura. As -lactamases de espectro estendido (ESBL) são uma das formas mais prevalentes de resistência em Gram negativos no mundo, e seus genes codificadores são disseminados por meio de diversos elementos genéticos, principalmente transposons e integrons mobilizados para plasmídios. Objetivo. Identificar e caracterizar genes codificadores de ESBL, bem como suas prováveis formas de mobilização, em enterobactérias isoladas de fontes ambientais e clínicas. Material e Métodos. Quarenta e cinco cepas isoladas de um hospital público em 2004 e 2005, responsáveis por infecções hospitalares (14), infecções comunitárias (7) e colonizações (24), e 7 isoladas de estações de tratamento de esgoto (ETE) em 2009, em São Paulo, geneticamente distintas e produtoras de ESBL da família Enterobacteriaceae, foram estudadas. A técnica de PCR seguida de sequenciamento foi utilizada para a identificação dos genes blaESBL, triagem de elementos móveis e mapeamento do ambiente genético de blaESBL. A identificação dos grupos de incompatibilidade plasmidial (Inc) foi realizada pela técnica de PBRT, e a determinação dos tamanhos dos plasmídios pela técnica de S1-PFGE. Resultados. Os genes blaESBL identificados foram: amostras clínicas - blaTEM-15, blaTEM-197, blaSHV-5, blaSHV-12, blaSHV-27, blaSHV-28, blaSHV-45, blaSHV-55, blaSHV-110, blaCTX-M-2, blaCTX-M-59 e blaCTX-M-131; amostras ambientais blaSHV-28, blaCTX-M-15 e blaCTX-M-8. Os genes blaTEM- 15 e blaTEM-197 estavam associados aos elementos Tn2* e Tn3, respectivamente. Os genes blaSHV-5 e blaSHV-12 estavam associados à IS26, e não foi possível determinar o ambiente genético dos demais genes blaSHV. Os genes blaCTX-M-2, blaCTX-M-59 e blaCTXM- 131 estavam inseridos em integrons de classe 1 complexos, blaCTX-M-15 estava associado à ISEcp1 interrompida pela IS26, e blaCTX-M-8 estava associado à IS10, também interrompida pela IS26. Os principais grupos Inc detectados foram IncA/C (37 por cento ) e IncF (30,4 por cento ). Exceto por 7 cepas clínicas, todas apresentavam plasmídios de alto peso molecular, entre 48,5kb e 388kb. Conclusões. Este estudo detectou 15 genes blaESBL diferentes, dos quais dois são genes novos (blaTEM-197 e blaCTX-M-131) e três são inéditos no Brasil (blaTEM-15, blaSHV-55 e blaSHV-110). A maioria das cepas deste estudo possuía genes blaESBL associados a elementos mobilizáveis, bem como continham plasmídios de grupos Inc envolvidos na disseminação da resistência antimicrobiana. Além disso, carreavam plasmídios provavelmente conjugativos. Os resultados deste estudo mostram genes de resistência associados a elementos mobilizáveis em cepas contendo elementos transferíveis. As cepas foram isoladas tanto em uma instituição de saúde como nas ETEs da Grande São Paulo, mostrando o potencial de disseminação da resistência da clínica para o ambiente em nossa região. / Introduction. Bacterial resistance is facilitated by selective pressure of antimicrobial use in clinical and other activities, as agriculture and livestock, and can be spread to nature through the inadequate discharge of sewage or by the use of sludge in agriculture. Extended-spectrum -lactamases (ESBL) are the most prevalente forms of resistance in Gram-negative bacteria in the world, and their encoding genes are disseminated through several genetic elements, especially transposons and integrons mobilized to plasmids. Objective. To identify and characterize ESBL-encoding genes, as well as their probable mobilization pathways, in enterobacteria isolated from clinical and environmental sources. Material and Methods. Forty-five strains isolated from a public hospital in 2004 and 2005, responsible for hospital infections (14), community-acquired infections (7) and colonizations (24), and 7 isolated from sewage treatment plants (ETE) in 2009, in São Paulo, genetically distinct and ESBL producers from Enterobacteriaceae family, were studied. PCR technique followed by sequencing was used for blaESBL genes identification, mobile elements screening and blaESBL genetic environment mapping. Plasmid incompatibility groups (Inc) were identified by PBRT technique, and plasmid sizes were determined by S1-PFGE technique. Results. The blaESBL genes identified were: clinical samples - blaTEM-15, blaTEM-197, blaSHV-5, blaSHV-12, blaSHV-27, blaSHV-28, blaSHV-45, blaSHV-55, blaSHV-110, blaCTX-M-2, blaCTX-M-59 and blaCTX-M-131; environmental samples blaSHV-28, blaCTX-M-15 and blaCTX-M-8. Genes blaTEM-15 and blaTEM-197 were associated to the elements Tn2* and Tn3, respectivelly. Genes blaSHV-5 and blaSHV-12 were associated to IS26, and it was not possible to detect the genetic environment of the other blaSHV genes. Genes blaCTX-M-2, blaCTX-M-59 and blaCTX-M-131 were inserted in complex class 1 integrons, blaCTX-M-15 was associated to ISEcp1 interrupted by IS26, and blaCTX-M-8 was associated to IS10, also interrupted by IS26. The most common Inc grups detected were IncA/C (37 per cent ) and IncF (30,4 per cent ). Except for 7 clinical strains, all isolates showed high molecular weight plasmids, rangng from 48,5kb to 388kb. Conclusions. This study detected 15 different blaESBL genes, from which 2 are new genes (blaTEM-197 e blaCTX-M-131) and 3 are still unpublished in Brazil (blaTEM-15, blaSHV-55 and blaSHV-110). Most of the strains from this study had blaESBL genes associated to mobile elements, as well as they had plasmids from Inc groups involved in the spread of antimicrobial resistance. Moreover, the strains probably carried conjugative plasmids. Results from the present work show resistance genes associated to mobile elements in strains carrying transferable elements. The strains were isolated either from a healthcare institution or from ETEs in São Paulo, which shows the spread potential of resistance from the clinic to the environment in our region.

La graisse commune est la principale phytobactériose du haricot.Cette maladie est causée par Xanthomonas citri pv. fuscans(Xcf) et X. phaseoli pv. phaseoli (Xpp). Xcf et Xpp étantphylogénétiquement distantes, leur capacité à produire lesmêmes symptômes sur haricot serait le fruit d’une convergencepathologique. L’objectif de cette thèse était d’identifi erles gènes candidats pour la spécifi cité d’hôte et d’étudier le rôledes effecteurs Transcription Activator-Like (TAL) dans l’interactionXanthomonas - haricot. Par une approche de génomiquecomparative, nous avons identifi é 116 gènes spécifi ques desagents de la graisse commune, dont un grand nombre a ététransféré horizontalement entre Xcf et Xpp. Ces gènes codentdes protéines intervenant aux différentes étapes de l’interaction.L’obtention du génome de 17 souches par séquençageSingle-Molecule Real-Time a révélé l’existence de un à troisgènes codant des effecteurs TAL par souche, pour un total dequatre gènes tal différents dont deux (tal23A et tal18H) ontété également transférés horizontalement entre Xcf et Xpp.L’ensemble de ces gènes constitue un répertoire spécifi que deXcf et Xpp qui pourrait expliquer la convergence pathologiqueentre ces pathovars. Des tests de pouvoir pathogène couplés àdes analyses transcriptomiques après inoculation d’un mutantde délétion de tal18H sur haricot ont révélé que TAL18H étaitimpliqué dans l’aggravation des symptômes et avait un effetpléiotrope sur le transcriptome du haricot lors de l’interaction.Les résultats de cette thèse constituent une / Common bacterial blight is the main bacterial disease of commonbean. This disease is caused by Xanthomonas citri pv.fuscans (Xcf) and X. phaseoli pv. phaseoli (Xpp). Xcf and Xppare phylogenetically distant yet they share the ability to inducethe same symptoms on common bean, which is suggestive ofpathological convergence between these two pathovars. Thisthesis aimed at identifying candidate genes for host specifi -city and studying the role of Transcription Activator-Like (TAL)effectors in the Xanthomonas – common bean interaction.Using a comparative genomic approach, we identifi ed 116genes specifi c to common bacterial blight agents, a largenumber of which were horizontally transferred between Xcfand Xpp. These genes encoded proteins involved in the differentsteps of the interaction.Single-Molecule Real-Timesequencing of 17 Xcf and Xpp genomes unveiled one to threeTAL-encoding genes per strain for a total of four different talgenes, two of which (tal23A and tal18H) were also horizontallytransferred between Xcf and Xpp. All these genes forma repertoire specifi c to Xcf and Xpp that could be responsiblefor the pathological convergence observed between thesetwo pathovars. Combination of pathogenicity tests and transcriptomicsafter inoculation of a tal18H deletion mutant oncommon bean plants revealed that TAL18H was involved insymptom development and displayed a pleiotropic effect oncommon bean transcriptome during the interaction. The resultsof this thesis constitute a stepping stone towards optimizingthe monitoring of co

The study of bacterial evolution is fundamental for addressing current problems of antibiotic resistance and emerging infectious diseases and lays a solid foundation for successful and rational design in biotechnology and synthetic biology. The main aim of this thesis is to test evolutionary hypotheses, largely based on theoretical considerations and sequence analysis, by designing scenarios in a laboratory setting to obtain experimental data. Paper I examines how genomic GC-content can be reduced following a change in mutation rate and spectrum. Transcription-related biases in mutation location were found, but no replicative bias was detected. Paper II explores the distribution of fitness effects of random substitutions in two ribosomal protein genes using a highly sensitive fitness assay. The substitutions had a weakly deleterious effect, with low frequencies of both neutral and inactivating mutations. The surprising finding that synonymous and non-synonymous substitutions have very similar distribution of fitness effects suggests that, at least for these genes, fitness constraints are present mainly on the level of mRNA instead of protein. Paper III examines selective barriers to inter-species gene transfer by constructing mutants with a native gene replaced by an orthologue from another species. Results suggest that the fitness costs of these gene replacements are large enough to provide a barrier to this kind of horizontal gene transfer in nature. The paper also examines possible compensatory mechanisms that can reduce the cost of the poorly functioning alien genes and found that gene amplification acts as a first step to improve the selective contribution after transfer. Paper IV investigates the fitness constraints on horizontal gene transfer by inserting DNA from other species into the Salmonella chromosome. Results suggest that insertion of foreign DNA often is neutral and the manuscript provides new experimental data for theoretical analysis of interspecies genome variation and horizontal gene transfer between species.

La scoperta e il successivo uso di antibiotici hanno reso resistenti molte specie batteriche sia di origine animale sia umana. I geni di resistenza agli antibiotici possono essere trasferiti tramite la catena alimentare, a partire dagli animali e alimenti, fino al tratto gastrointestinale degli esseri umani. Il presente studio descrive la proprietà coniugativa di alcuni nuovi plasmidi, in particolare di uno identificato in un ceppo di Lactococcus lactis spp. lactis, isolato dall'intestino di pesce, e di altri plasmidi individuati in ceppi di Lactobacillus brevis, Lb. plantarum e Lb. reuteri, isolati da salame. La trasferibilità dei plasmidi che portano i geni di resistenza per l’eritromicina o tetraciclina è stata valutata con metodi di elettroporazione e coniugazione in vitro. Nello specifico è riportato il trasferimento di tali plasmidi a specie batteriche patogene per l’uomo come Listeria monocytogenes e Staphylococcus spp. e a un agente responsabile di Lactococcosi nei pesci come Lc. garvieae. Dopo lo studio sulle proprietà coniugative si è proceduto alla caratterizzazione di questi elementi extracromosomici con esperimenti di comobilizzazione e stabilità. I dati ottenuti suggeriscono come i LAB possano essere un serbatoio di diffusione dei geni per l’antibiotico resistenza, con gravi rischi per l’allevamento di prodotti ittici e salute umana. / The discovery and subsequent widespread use of antibiotics have rendered many bacterial species of human and animal origin resistant to some antibiotics. Antibiotic resistance gene may be transferred via food chain, from animals into fermented and other food or in the human gastrointestinal tract. The transferability of some plasmids that harbor the tetracycline or erythromycin resistance genes to animal and human pathogens was assessed using electrotrasformation and conjugation. The present study describes the proprieties of some new plasmids, originally isolated from fish intestinal Lactococcus lactis ssp. lactis and from fermented sausage Lactobacillus brevis, Lb. plantarum and Lb. reuteri. In particular, here I report the potentially of transferable antibiotic resistance determinants to human pathogenic bacterial like Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus spp. and to an etiologic agent of Lactococcus infection like Lc. garvieae. The possibility of transferring natural Lactococcus and Lactobacillus plasmids into pathogenic bacterial strains involved the characterization of these elements, like comobilization and plasmid stability. These data suggest that lactic acid bacteria (LAB) might be reservoir organism for acquired resistance genes that can be spread both to fish and human pathogens, posing a risk to aquaculture and human health.

The diplomonads are a diverse group of eukaryotic microbes found in oxygen limited environments such as the intestine of animals were they may cause severe disease. Among them, the prominent human parasite Giardia intestinalis non-invasively colonizes the small intestine of humans and animals where it induces the gastrointestinal disease giardiasis. Two of the eight genetic groups of G. intestinalis, assemblage A and B, are known to infect humans and have zoonotic potential. At the start of project, genome scale data from assemblage B-H was either sparse or entirely missing. In this thesis, genome sequencing was performed on the assemblage B isolate GS (Paper I) and the P15 isolate (Paper III) of the hoofed-animals specific assemblage E to investigate the underlying components of phenotypic diversity in Giardia. Comparisons to assemblage A isolate WB revealed large genomic differences; entirely different repertoires of surface antigens, genome rearrangements and isolate specific coding sequences of potential bacterial origin. We established that genomic differences are also manifested at the transcriptome level (Paper VIII). In a follow up analysis (Paper IV) we concluded that the Giardia assemblages are largely reproductively isolated. The large genomic differences observed between Giardia isolates can explain the phenotypic diversity of giardiasis. The adaptation of diplomonads was further studied in Spironucleus barkhanus (Paper II), a fish commensal of grayling, that is closely related to the fish pathogen Spironucleus salmonicida, causative agent of systemic spironucleosis in salmonid fish. We identified substantial genomic differences in the form of divergent genome size, primary sequence divergence and evidence of allelic sequence heterozygosity, a feature not seen in S. salmonicida. We devised a transfection system for S. salmonicida (Paper VI) and applied it to the study of the mitochondrial remnant organelle (Paper VII). Our analyses showed that S. salmonicida harbor a hydrogenosome, an organelle with more metabolic capabilities than the mitosome of Giardia. Phylogenetic reconstructions of key hydrogenosomal enzymes showed an ancient origin, indicating a common origin to the hydrogenosome in parabasilids and diplomonads. In conclusion, the thesis has provided important insights into the adaptation of diplomonads in the present and the distant past, revealing hidden diversity.

Vibrio parahaemolyticus is an opportunistic human pathogen that occurs naturally in a non-pathogenic form in coastal estuarine and marine environments worldwide. Following the acquisition of virulence-associated genes, V. parahaemolyticus has emerged as a significant pathogen causing seafood-borne illnesses. The mechanisms and conditions that promote the emergence of disease causing V. parahaemolyticus strains are not well understood. In addition, V. parahaemolyticus clinical strains isolated from disease-associated samples and environmental strains from sediment, water, and marine organisms have been identified with considerable diversity; however, the evolutionary relationships of disease-causing strains and environmental strains are not known. In the following research, the evolutionary relationships of V. parahaemolyticus clinical and environmental strains are examined. In addition, the contribution of genetic elements and molecular mechanisms such as deficiency of DNA repair to the evolution of V. parahaemolyticus clinical and environmental strains is shown. Molecular analysis of the evolutionary relationships of V. parahaemolyticus clinical and environmental strains demonstrated separate lineages of pathogenic and non-pathogenic strains with the exception of several environmental strains that may represent a reservoir of disease-causing strains in the environment. Sequence characterization of plasmids isolated from diverse environmental Vibrios indicated a role of plasmids in strain evolution by horizontal transfer of housekeeping genes. In addition, analysis of plasmids from V. parahaemolyticus clinical and environmental strains indicated the existence of a plasmid family distributed among V. parahaemolyticus, V. campbellii, and V. harveyi environmental strains. Sequence characterization of a plasmid of this family from a V. parahaemolyticus environmental strain indicated the contribution of these plasmids to the emergence of the clonal pandemic strains. Investigation of the role of molecular mechanisms to the evolution of V. parahaemolyticus strains showed that inactivation of the DNA repair pathway methyl-directed mismatch repair (MMR) increased the accumulation of spontaneous mutations leading to increased nucleotide diversity in select genes. The research findings in the following chapters demonstrate a considerable contribution of genetic elements and molecular mechanisms to the evolution of genetic and phenotypic diversity.

Submitted by Luciana Sebin (lusebin@ufscar.br) on 2016-09-26T19:33:26Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DissJPPS.pdf: 2939420 bytes, checksum: 44366c4d259a65ba75e54d36b01b8483 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Marina Freitas (marinapf@ufscar.br) on 2016-09-27T19:57:29Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DissJPPS.pdf: 2939420 bytes, checksum: 44366c4d259a65ba75e54d36b01b8483 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Marina Freitas (marinapf@ufscar.br) on 2016-09-27T19:57:35Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DissJPPS.pdf: 2939420 bytes, checksum: 44366c4d259a65ba75e54d36b01b8483 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-09-27T19:57:40Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DissJPPS.pdf: 2939420 bytes, checksum: 44366c4d259a65ba75e54d36b01b8483 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-03-23 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) / Knowledge about horizontal gene transfer has been proposed even before the determination of the molecular structure of DNA. It has been experimentally shown that micro-homologies rich in adenine and cytosine mediates the integration of Trypanosoma cruzi’s kDNA minicircle, in the vertebrate genome. After human genome sequencing, the genome characterization of different organisms has been one of the main driving forces of science, providing a quantity of biological data for modern biomedical research, unprecedented in the history of science. However, even though traditional DNA mapping algorithms are highly accurate, they operate at a much lower rate than that needed for the next generation sequencers to accumulate new data. This great asymmetry between data generation and analysis capability requires the rapid evolution of mapping and reading algorithms so that this large volume of information can be worked through targeted searches. Thus, this work proposes an efficient, fast and easy way to search and locate multiple signatures of indicators that allow exogenous kDNA integration in the human genome, by creating a set of scripts for in silico analysis adapted to large files sequences. Three scripts based in R language were developed: to permute the elements (nucleic acids or amino acids codes); for search, grouping and plotting matches in genome; and for counting total matches and chromosomal window. All adenine and cytosine signatures were properly identified in the human genome, but no point more susceptible to T. cruzi kDNA integration was identified. With the obtained data, a genetic map was created, listing all matchings in each cytogenetic band, but it was not possible to identify which chromosome was more prone to mutations, since the bigger the chromosome is, the higher the quantity of matches are. / Com o sequenciamento do genoma humano e tantas outras espécies, abre-se agora uma nova janela de oportunidades analíticas. Podemos pensar em fazer buscas orientadas dentro dessa massa enorme de dados publicados em bancos de dados biológicos. Tendo isso em foco, buscamos estruturar uma forma automatizada de busca dentro do genoma humano, pela qual pudéssemos inferir sobre os sítios mais prováveis de integração de DNA exógeno. Para isso utilizamos como modelo os trabalhos que indicam que a doença de Chagas é produzida pela introgressão do kDNA de Trypanosoma cruzi no genoma hospedeiro, por meio de herança genética horizontal. Já foi demonstrado experimentalmente que micro-homologias ricas em adenina e citosina medeiam as integrações de minicírculos de kDNA do T. cruzi, no genoma de vertebrados. Deste modo, o presente trabalho propõe uma maneira eficiente, fácil e rápida para a busca e localização de múltiplas assinaturas dos sinalizadores que propiciam a introgressão do kDNA exógeno no genoma humano, através da criação de um conjunto de scripts para análises in silico, adaptados a grandes arquivos de sequências. Foram desenvolvidos três scripts, baseados na linguagem R: para permutação de elementos (ácidos nucleicos ou aminoácidos); para busca, agrupamento e plotagem das correspondências em genoma; e para contagem total de correspondências e contagem por janela cromossômica. Todas as assinaturas compostas por adenina e citosina (motivos CA’s) foram devidamente identificadas no genoma humano, porém não foi identificado nenhum ponto mais suscetível à integração do kDNA de T. cruzi. Com os dados obtidos, um mapa genético foi criado, listando as correspondências em cada banda citogenética, porém não foi possível identificar qual cromossomo possui maior propensão à mutações, já que quanto maior o cromossomo, maior é a quantidade de correspondências presentes.

Orientador: Marcelo Lancellotti / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Biologia / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-22T23:59:18Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Andrade_AliceTavaresReis_M.pdf: 3292132 bytes, checksum: ee5318f5b87992964c9d97bedc343f00 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013 / Resumo: Em 1998, foi relatada a transferência lateral do gene sodC do gênero Haemophilus para a espécie Neisseria meningitidis. Sabe-se que, nestes dois grupos a dinâmica deste gene é bastante distinta. Este trabalho tem por objetivo estimar árvores filogenéticas que possam apontar qual a espécie do gênero Haemophilus compartilhou o gene sodC com a espécie N. meningitidis. Testes de seleção positiva foram empregados no intuito de avaliar quais forças evolutivas estão subjacentes ao processo de diversificação molecular do gene nestas espécies ao longo do tempo. Além disso, foi realizada uma modelagem protéica computacional por homogia para avaliar quais substituições de aminoácidos tinham impacto no processo adaptativo da enzima nas espécies consideradas. Ao se reconstruir uma filogenia para o gene sodC, foi constatado que a origem deste gene na espécie H. influenzae é distinta. Um grupo de linhagens recebeu o gene, provavelmente por transferência lateral, da espécie H. haemolyticus, enquanto o outro grupo recebeu o gene da espécie H. parainfluenzae. Neste grupo, o gene sofreu pseudogeneização. Foi observado também que as sequências de N. meningitidis agrupam com as sequências que compartilham um ancestral comum com a espécie H. haemolyticus, porém as sequências do meningococo formam um ramo distinto dentro deste clado. Dada à alta clonalidade das sequências de N. meningitidis, foi constatado que o evento de transferência lateral de genes foi muito recente na escala do tempo. O teste de seleção positiva demonstrou que seleção positiva está atuando especificamente no ramo da árvore que compartilha um ancestral comum com a espécie H. haemolyticus, através da modificação de uma alanina por uma serina na posição 72, embora a nota geral da árvore tenha sido menor que 1. Sabe-se que pseudogenes, por não codificarem uma proteína ativa e, portanto, por não estarem sob nenhum tipo de restrição funcional, estão sob uma ação maior da deriva genética. Portanto, diferentes forças evolutivas estão governando a evolução deste gene nas espécies consideradas. A modelagem protéica concluiu que tal modificação contribuiu para o aumento do potencial redox do sítio ativo. Desta forma, a ação da seleção positiva sob um único resíduo de aminoácido foi benéfica para a função da enzima como um todo / Abstract: In 1998, it was reported the lateral transfer of the sodC gene from the genus Haemophilus to Neisseria meningitidis. It is known that this two groups show a quite distinct dynamics of this gene. This study aims to estimate phylogenetic trees that might point to which species of the genus Haemophilus shared the sodC gene with N. meningitidis. In addition, tests of positive selection were employed in order to assess which evolutionary forces are governing the process of molecular diversification of the gene in these species through time. Moreover, we performed a computational protein modeling by homology to asses which amino acids substitutions had an impact on the adaptative process of the enzyme in the species considered. A phylogeny of the sodC gene was reconstructed and it was found that this gene in H. influenzae has two different origins. A group of lineages has received the gene, probably by lateral transfer, from H. haemolyticus, whereas the other group has received the gene from H. parainfluenzae. In the latter, the gene has become a pseudogene. It was also observed that the sequences from N. meningitides group together with those sequences that share a common ancestor with H. haemolyticus, but they form a distinct branch within this clade. Given the high clonality of the sequences from N. meningitidis, it was found that the lateral gene transfer event is very recent in the time scale. A test of positive selection showed that positive selection is acting specifically in the branch that shares a common ancestor with H. haemolyticus through the substitution of an alanine to a serine at position 72, though the overall score of the tree is less than one. It is known that pseudogenes do not encode active proteins and therefore they are not under any kind of functional constraints, so they are under greater influence of genetic drift. Thus, it was concluded that different forces are driving the evolution of this gene in the species considered here. Protein modeling concluded that this modification contributed to the increase in the redox potencial of the active site. Thus the action of positive selection under a single amino acid residue was beneficial to the function of the enzyme as whole / Mestrado / Bioquimica / Mestra em Biologia Funcional e Molecular

β-glucosidases are important components of the cellulase enzyme system in which they not only hydrolyse cellobiose to glucose, but also remove the feedback inhibition effects of cellobiose on exoglucanase and endoglucanase thereby increasing the rate of cellulose degradation to fermentable sugars. A total of 166 proteins were identified as β-glucosidases after manual BLASTp search on the Aspergillus comparative database from eight species. Evidence for Horizontal Gene Transfer (HGT) of bacterial origin of some β-glucosidase genes was provided by their lack of introns, absence of some fungal specific amino acid insertions in their sequences and unusual positions in phylogenetic trees showing similarities to bacterial proteins. A rapid plate assay based on Congo red methods was developed to study the optimum parameters such as pH and temperature for growth of strains and activities of the enzymes produced. Bacterial cellulose (BC) was produced by Gluconacetobacter xylinus. For the first time a fully detailed characterization by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and 13Carbon Solid State Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (SSNMR) of pure BC before and after treatment with a commercially available Aspergillus cellulase enzyme was demonstrated. Two encoding sequences for novel Aspergillus nidulans hydrophobin genes ANID_05290.1 and ANID_07327 that do not fall into either the class I or class II category of hydrophobins were successfully cloned. Two encoding sequences for a novel β-glucosidase gene from an Aspergillus niger strain from Nigeria were amplified and cloned from genomic DNA using PCR. Aspergillus nidulans β-glucosidases (AN2227 and AN1804) expressed in Pichia were purified to homogeneity by using ammonium sulphate precipitation and DEAE-Sephadex A-50 chromatography. Both enzymes had a remarkably broad pH and temperature profile. Further experiments on the development of a technology for lignocellulose degradation based on co-production of β-glucosidase with hydrophobin for biofuel production are suggested.

O gênero Phytomonas está associado a enfermidades devastadoras em plantações de interesse econômico, enquanto que outros vegetais parasitados não apresentam nenhum dano aparente. A seqüência-consenso de um agrupamento de ESTs de P. serpens determinado anteriormente apresentou alta similaridade com indolpiruvato descarboxilases (IPDCs) de fitobactérias e putativas piruvato/indolpiruvato descarboxilases de Leishmania spp. A enzima IPDC está na via de biossíntese do ácido 3-indolil acético, um dos hormônios vegetais mais importantes. Verificamos que o gene IPDC está presente em diversos isolados de Phytomonas, em múltiplas cópias (cerca de 104 cópias em P. serpens e 200 cópias em P. françai), contíguas e concentradas em uma banda cromossômica. Análises filogenéticas e amplificações por PCR com oligonucleotídeos degenerados apontam o clado Phytomonas-Leishmania como grupo-irmão de IPDCs de fitobactérias, sugerindo um processo de transferência horizontal anterior à separação dos tripanossomatídeos do clado que também inclui Leptomonas, Herpetomonas e Crithidia. / The genus Phytomonas is associated to devastating diseases in commercially important crops, whereas in other plant species no apparent damage is observed. The consensus sequence of one group of ESTs of P. serpens previously determined showed high similarity with indolepyruvate decarboxylases (IPDCs) from phytobacteria and putative pyruvate/indolepyruvate decarboxylases of Leishmania spp. The enzyme ipdC participates in the biosynthetic pathway of the indole-3-acetic acid, one of the most important plant hormones. We found that the IPDC gene is present in several Phytomonas isolates, in multiple copies (about 104 copies in P. serpens and 200 copies in P. françai, in tandem and concentrated in one chromosomal band. The phylogenetic analyses and data of PCR amplifications with degenerated primers point the clade Phytomonas-Leishmania as a sister group of IPDCs of phytobacteria, suggesting a process of horizontal gene transfer prior to the separation of the trypanosomatid clade that also includes Leptomonas, Phytomonas, Herpetomonas, Leishmania and Crithidia.