Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:27:16Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2006-09-28Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:35:30Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 fontoura_cl_me_jabo.pdf: 235669 bytes, checksum: fca01c25cc9edf7cab4df726d6520e4f (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / A carne e seus derivados apresentam grande valor na alimentação humana e se enquadram entre os alimentos de origem animal mais perecíveis, principalmente pela sua variedade e riqueza nutricional. Constituem-se em importante veículo de agentes zoonóticos e especial meio de cultura para o desenvolvimento e multiplicação de uma ampla gama de microrganismos. O presente trabalho teve por finalidade avaliar a presença de alguns microrganismos potencialmente patogênicos (Salmonella sp., Staphylococcus aureus e Listeria sp.) e alguns indicadores como microrganismos psicrotróficos, mesófilos e coliformes na superfície de meias carcaças bovinas logo após a lavagem e avaliar a influência da refrigeração na população microbiana (de indicadores e Staphylococcus aureus). As amostras foram obtidas em um matadouro frigorífico localizado no interior do Estado de São Paulo, submetido a controle higiênico-sanitário permanente e com comércio no mercado interno e externo. No total foram analisadas 80 amostras (suabes) de regiões da superfície externa da carcaça (coxão, lombo e ponta-de-agulha) sendo 40 logo após a lavagem e 40 após 24 horas sob refrigeração. Na grande maioria das amostras as populações de microrganismos heterotróficos mesófilos estiveram entre 1,0 e 1,0 x 102 UFC/cm2, indicando eficiência nos cuidados higiênico-sanitários durante as operações de abate. Para os microrganismos psicrotróficos encontrou-se populações inferiores a 2,0 x 103 UFC/cm2, o que pode permitir maior vida-de-prateleira ao produto e para Staphylococcus sp. as populações foram inferiores a 1,0 x 103 UFC/cm2, não tendo sido encontrado nenhuma cepa da espécie Staphylococcus aureus. Os valores médios... / The meat as well its derivatives show great value in human aliments of animal origin principally because of its variety and nutritional wealth. It constitutes an important vehicle of zoonotic agents and a special means of culture for the development and multiplication of one large gamut of microorganisms. The present work had the goal to evaluate the presence of some microorganisms potentially pathogenic (Salmonella sp, Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria sp) and some indicators such as psychrotrophic, mesophilic and coliforms in the surface of half the bovine carcass after it is washed and evaluated as to the influence of storage by refrigeration of the microbial population (of indicators and Staphylococcus aureus). The samples were obtained in a slaughterhouse cooler located in the inner city of Sao Paulo, using constant sanitary hygienic control and doing business in the internal market as well to the external market. In total, 80 samples were analyzed (swab) of regions in the external surface of the carcasses (rump, loin and rib), results being 40 as soon as it was washed and 40 after 24 hours under refrigeration. In the large majority of samples the population of microorganism mesophilic were between 1,0 e 1,0 x 102 UFC/cm2, indicating efficiency in the care of sanitary hygene during the operations of slaughter. For the microorganisms populations psychrotrophic were found to be below 2,0 x 103 UFC/cm2, permitting longer shelf life of the product. For Staphylococcus sp, the populations were lowered to 1,0 x 103 UFC/cm2, and no species of cepa Staphylococcus aureus was found. The medium values for the populations of mesophilic, psychrotrophic and Staphylococcus sp. respectively were... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)

Masters of Science / A nitrile and amide hydrolysing Nesterenkonia sp. was isolated from Antarctic soil and was characterised as a psychrotolerant, halotolerant and alkaliphilic extremophile. Amidases are widely distributed in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms. These enzymes hydrolyze C-N bonds other than peptide bonds and are particularly interesting for their potential industrial application. This study aimed to identify and characterize amidase genes from this novel psychrotolerant microorganism. Using BLAST analysis, two ORFs with conserved amidase sequences were identified from the complete genome sequence of the organism. Two ORFs, AmiF and AmiS, were assigned to two different gene families, the aceta/formamidase family and amidase signature family, respectively. On the genome, the spatial orientation and intergenic distance (1bp overlap) of the ORF‟s suggested that amiF and amiS could possibly be cotranscribed which was confirmed by reverse transcription PCR. A third ORF with a conserved amidase sequence was found ±500bps downstream from amiS, suggesting the possible presence of a multi amidase operon. The two genes were cloned and expressed as N-terminal 6x His-Tag fusion proteins. AmiS and Ami F were partially purified using Ni-chelation chromatography. Although both proteins were subjected to activity assay, their activities are yet to be established. Homology modeling of the AmiF and AmiS translated sequences showed that the proteins had the significant similarities to the members of their families. Although the sequence identities between the AmiF and AmiS and their templates were very low (24 % and 25% respectively), the evaluation of the models showed that the quality of the models were good. This study reports the genetic and functional characterisation of amidase genes from the cold adapted microorganisms. / South Africa

Alternative fuels are necessary to meet the increasing demands for fuels. Alternative fuels such as biodiesel are produced using vegetable oils, which are prominentt in the food industry. An alternate feedstock could be oil-producing microorganisms. These oleaginous microorganisms are defined as accumulating more than 20% of their weight in oil as lipids. Cultivating these microorganisms for oil production is not economical due to the high production costs from the sugars in the culture medium. Municipal wastewater could be a potential growth medium that has not previously been considered for cultivating oleaginous microorganisms. However, municipal wastewater contains a low concentration of carbon, which does not promote oil accumulation in the oleaginous microorganisms. To increase the carbon concentration in the wastewater, lignocellulosic sugars could be added to the municipal wastewater. These sugars are a potential alternative to sugars that are in the food industry. The goal of this research is to determine the efficacy of using municipal wastewater to cultivate a consortium of oleaginous microorganisms, thus, producing oil for biodiesel production. First, a consortium of oleaginous microorganisms was cultivated on autoclaved wastewater to determine if the wastewater contains any inhibiting substances for the microorganisms. In addition to the substances in the wastewater, indigenous microorganisms are possible inhibitors to the consortium. Therefore, to determine the effect these indigenous microorganisms have on the oleaginous microorganisms, the consortium was cultivated on raw municipal wastewater amended with varying amounts of sugar. Since the municipal wastewater can be used as a cultivation medium, the effect of the addition of lignocellulosic sugars was determined. During the production of lignocellulosic sugars, furfural and acetic acid, known microbial inhibitors, are formed. The effect of these inhibitors on the consortium’s growth and oil accumulation ability was ascertained, and inhibition models were developed to describe their impact. With these results, SuperPro Designer v6.0 was used to perform simulations and economic analyses to determine the efficacy of incorporating an oleaginous microorganism consortium in a wastewater treatment facility.

No description available.

In this thesis, three fluid dynamical problems are studied. First in chapter 2 we investigate, via both theoretical and experimental methods, the swimming motion of a magnetotactic bacterium having the shape of a prolate spheroid in a viscous liquid under the influence of an imposed magnetic field. The emphasis of the study is placed on how the shape of the non-spherical magnetotactic bacterium, marked by the size of its eccentricity, affects the pattern of its swimming motion. It is revealed that the pattern/speed of a swimming spheroidal magnetotactic bacterium is highly sensitive not only to the direction of its magnetic moment but also to its shape. Secondly, an important unanswered mathematical question in the theory of rotating fluids has been the completeness of the inviscid eigenfunctions which are usually referred to as inertial waves or inertial modes. In chapter 3 we provide for the first time a mathematical proof for the completeness of the inertial modes in a rotating annular channel by establishing the completeness relation, or Parseval’s equality, for any piecewise continuous, differentiable velocity of an incompressible fluid. Thirdly, in chapter 4 we investigate, through both asymptotic analysis and direct numerical simulation, precessionally driven flow of a homogeneous fluid confined in a fluid-filled circular cylinder that rotates rapidly about its symmetry axis and precesses about a different axis that is fixed in space. A particular emphasis is placed on the spherical-like cylinder whose diameter is nearly the same as its length. An asymptotic analytical solution in closed form is derived in the mantle frame of reference for describing weakly precessing flow in the spherical-like cylinder at asymptotically small Ekman numbers. We also construct a three-dimensional finite element model, which is checked against the asymptotic solution, in attempting to elucidate the structure of the nonlinear flow.

The purpose of the present study was to determine the relative importance of aquatic and terrestrial beetles as possible vehicles in the passive overland dispersal of viable microorganisms.

Os agentes infecciosos têm sido considerados iniciadores da desestabilização da placa de ateroma. Este mecanismo pode estar relacionado a uma intensificação do processo inflamatório através da interação dos receptores de membrana CD14 e TLR com os microorganismos. Para avaliar esta hipótese, estudou-se a participação da resposta inflamatória induzida por Chlamydophila pneumoniae (Cp) e Mycoplasma pneumoniae (Mp) em indivíduos com infarto agudo do miocárdio (IAM). Avaliou-se também, a possível associação entre polimorfismos dos genes CD14, TLR2, TLR4 e TNFA e a expressão dos genes IL6, TLR2, TLR4 e TNFA em leucócitos do sangue periférico, assim como a sua associação com o IAM. Para isso, foi realizado um estudo caso-controle constituído por pacientes com IAM e por indivíduos sem evidência de doença cardiovascular (grupo controle). As imunoglobulinas IgM e IgG séricas anti-Cp foram detectadas por imunofluorescência indireta. O DNA dos agentes infecciosos foi detectado no sangue periférico pela PCR em tempo real. A genotipagem dos polimorfismos TNFA -308G>A, IL6 -174G>C, CD14 -260C>T, TLR4 (Asp299Gli e Thr39911e) e TLR2 Arg753Gln e a quantificação relativa da expressão gênica nas células sanguíneas foram analisados pela PCR em tempo real. A porcentagem de positividade para DNA de Cp foi de 18,0% e 8,1% nos grupos IAM e controle (p=0,071), respectivamente, (p=0,071). Foram positivos para DNA de Mp, 5,0% e 11,2% dos indivíduos nos grupos IAM e controle, respectivamente (p=0,318). Sete indivíduos (7,1%) do grupo IAM tiveram títulos anti-Cp IgG positivos (1:512) e 3,9% dos indivíduos do grupo controle (p=0,718). A expressão do TLR4 foi significantemente menor no grupo IAM (0,00113±0,00102) comparado ao grupo controle (0,00144±0,000806; p=0,003). As frequências genotípicas e alelicas dos polimorfismos TNFA -308G>A, CD14 -260C>T, TLR4 (Asp299GIi e Thr39911e) e TLR2 Arg753Gln foram similares entre os grupos estudados (p>0,05) sugerindo que esses polimorfismos não estão associados com IAM nesta amostra populacional. No grupo IAM, houve associação entre o genótipo -260CT+TI CD14 com títulos IgG anti-Cp detectados na diluição 1:16 (p=0,042). Da mesma forma, o alelo A do polimorfismo -308G>A TNF-α foi associado com títulos positivos de IgG anti-Cp na diluição 1:512 (p=0,0058). No grupo IAM, pacientes positivos para DNA de Cp tiveram maiores concentrações de fibrinogênio do que pacientes negativos para este agente infeccioso (541,8±161,5mg/dL e 450,5±196,8mg/dL, respectivamente; p=0.043). Os agentes infecciosos Chlamydophila pneumoniae e Mycoplasma pneumoniae não foram significantemente mais frequentes em indivíduos que tiveram infarto agudo do miocárdio em relação ao grupo controle, porém houve uma associação, no grupo IAM, entre positividade para DNA de C. pneumoniae e concentrações mais elevadas de fibrinogênio. / Atheroma plaque instability has been attributed to the presence of some infectious agents. This mechanism may be related with increased stimulus of inflammatory process through interactions of CD14 and TLR with infectious agents. In this present study, it was evaluated the association of the presence of Chlamydophila pneumoniae and Mycoplasma pneumonia with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). A case-control study was conducted with AMI patients and non-AMI individuais as controls. Immunoglobulin G (lgG) and IgM antibodies anti-Chlamydophila pneumoniae were detected by indirect immunifluorescent assay and the Cp DNA and Mp DNA were detected by real time PCR (RT-PCR) in peripheral blood cells. Using the same method, the individuals were genotyped and the gene expressions of TLR2, TLR4, IL-6 e TNF-α were evaluated by RT-qPCR. In AMI patients, Cp DNA and Mp DNA were positive in 18,0% and 5,0% samples, respectively. In controls, 8,1% and 11,2% were positive for Cp DNA and Mp DNA, respectively. TLR4 expression was significantly decreased in AMI patients (0.00113±0.001 02) compared with controls (0.00144±0.000S06; p=0.003). The frequencies of -308G>A TNF-α., -260C>T CD14, Asp299Gli TLR4, Thr39911e TLR4e Arg753Gln TLR2 SNPs in AMI group were similar to those found in controls. On the other hand, In AMI group, the -260CT+TT CD14 genotype was associated with anti-CP IgG antibody titer of 1/16. Likewise, the rare allele of -308G>A TNF-α was associated with anti-CP IgG antibody titer of 1/16. Cp DNA positive patients had high concentration of fibrinogen when compared with negative patients. In conclusion, Cp DNA and Mp DNA positivity were not associated with AMI.

Neste trabalho foi empregada uma metodologia rápida e eficiente para a identificação de metabólitos fitotóxicos produzidos por microrganismos. O isolamento do composto bioativo foi guiado através de bioensaio com Lemna minor. A espectrometria de massas, em especial o LC-MS, foi utilizada para acelerar o processo de identificação do composto ativo. As bactérias estudadas eram simbióticas do fungo fitopatogênico Sclerotium rolfsii. Seus respectivos extratos orgânicos obtidos de culturas em meio BD (batata dextrose) foram submetidos ao ensaio de fitotoxicidade com Lemna minor. Entre cinco bactérias foi selecionada a bactéria Burkholderia sp, a qual apresentou maior atividade no ensaio de fitotoxicidade. O fracionamento por cromatografia em coluna de sílica propiciou a identificação de uma fração ativa. A fitotoxina foi caracterizada como sendo um macropentólido de 20 membros. O composto pertence à classe dos polihidroxibutiratos (PHBs). Sua estrutura foi determinada por RMN 1H, RMN 13C, HMQC, HMBC, IV, ESI-MS/MS e também por comparação com dados da literatura. Esse composto nunca foi isolado de fontes naturais. Foi descrito na literatura uma rota sintética para sua obtenção, porém esta é a primeira vez que sua atividade fitotóxica é relatada. Este trabalho mostra uma nova perspectiva para o emprego de PHBs de baixo peso molecular e apresenta uma proposta de estrutura de composto fitotóxico que pode servir de modelo para a síntese de novos herbicidas. / In this work a quick and efficient methodology was employed for the identification of phytotoxic metabolites produced by microorganisms. The isolation of the bioactive compound was guided by Lemna minor bioassay. Mass spectrometry, especially LC-MS, was used to accelerate the process of identification of the phytotoxin. All bacteria were symbiotic to the phytopatogenic fungi Sclerotium rolfsii.. The bacterium Burkholderia sp was selected among the five bacteria analyzed, due to its greater phytotoxic activity in the bioassay. The phytotoxin was characterized as a 20 member macropentolide. This compound belongs to the polyhidroxybutirates (PHBs) chemical class. Its structure was determined by NMR1H, NMR 13C, HMQC, HMBC, IV, ESI-MS/MS and HRMS. It has never been isolated from natural sources before. Although a synthetic route has been proposed in the literature this is the first time that its phytotoxic activity is reported. This work leads to a new perspective for the application of low molecular weight PHBs and propose a phytotoxic structure that can be used as a model for the synthesis of new herbicide class.

Microrganismos endofíticos apresentam grande diversidade genética e metabólica, com enorme potencial biotecnológico para aplicações em diferentes áreas. A bioprospecção desses microrganismos possibilita a obtenção de novos bioprodutos agrícolas. Endofíticos podem ser aplicados, por exemplo, para a biorremediação de áreas contaminadas ou para o controle de insetos pragas pela produção de compostos entomotóxicos. Apesar de sua importância, ainda existem poucos estudos voltados à bioprospecção da microbiota endofítica em regiões tropicais. Assim, o presente trabalho pretendeu verificar a diversidade de microrganismos endofíticos cultiváveis em milho e a comparar a diversidade de metabólitos desses endofíticos ao de isolados de Citrus. Também foi explorado o potencial dos diferentes endófitos em degradar os principais inseticidas (lufenuron, spinosad, chlorpyrifos ethyl, lambda-cyhalothrin e deltamethrin) utilizados em lavouras de milho para o controle de lagartas de Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith, 1797) (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae), para exploração dos mesmos em programas de biorremediação. Finalmente, foi avaliado o potencial entomotoxida dos extratos orgânicos dos endofíticos estudados até a identificação das moléculas ativas. Foram isolados 30 microrganismos endofíticos de milho (27 bactérias e 3 fungos), os quais foram comparados aos endófitos de citros do acervo do Laboratório de Genética de Microrganismos \"Prof. João Lúcio de Azevedo\". Dos isolados obtidos, sete apresentaram capacidade de metabolização dos cinco inseticidas testados, sendo a maioria deles capaz de metabolizar pelo menos um dos inseticidas testados. Ensaios de bioatividade dos extratos orgânicos do cultivo dos endofíticos contra lagartas de S. frugiperda, levaram à identificação de extratos que induziram 100% de mortalidade de lagartas do terceiro ínstar. O isolamento e a caracterização da molécula ativa do extrato produzido pelo isolado LGM-CR-JM-02 - Streptomyces badius, permitiu a identificação da valinomicina (CL50 = 4,38 Mi g/mL) como molécula ativa. Assim, demonstramos que a comunidade de endofíticos pode reunir grande diversidade biológica e, principalmente, metabólica, sendo uma excelente oportunidade para exploração de microrganismos com potencial para biorremediação e produção de compostos com atividade inseticida / Endophytes are microorganisms with great genetic and metabolic diversity, and with a huge biotechnological potential for applications in different areas. The bioprospection of these microorganisms makes possible to obtain new agricultural bioproducts. Endophytes may be applied, for example, to bioremediation of contaminated areas or to the control of pest insects with entomotoxic compounds. Despite its importance, there are few studies focused on the bioprospection of endophytic microbiota in tropical regions. Thus, we investigated the biological diversity of culturable endophytes from maize and compared the diversity of metabolites endophytes from maize and Citrus produced. We also explored the potential of different endophytes to grow in minumum medium containing one of the main insecticides (lufenuron, spinosad, chlorpyrifos ethyl, lambda-cyhalothrin and deltamethrin) applied in maize crops to control the caterpillars Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith, 1797) (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae) as the only source of carbon in order to evaluate their potential use in bioremediation programs. Finally, we evaluated the entomotoxic potential of the organic extracts of the endophytes and the fractions up to the identification of the active molecules. In total, thirty maize endophytes (27 bacteria and 3 fungi) and five endophytes isolated from citrus that were deposited at the collection of the Laboratory of Genetics of Microorganisms \"Prof. João Lúcio de Azevedo\" were investigated. Seven out of 35 endophytes tested metabolized the five insecticides used, and most of them were able to metabolize at least one of the tested insecticides. Bioactivity assays of the organic extracts produced from cultured endophytes were fed to third instars of S. frugiperda causing 100% mortality. The isolation and characterization of the active molecule produced by one of these isolates (LGM-CR-JM-02 - Streptomyces badius) led to the identification of valinomycin (LC50 = 4.38 Mi g / mL) as the active molecule. Thus, we demonstrated that endophytes can gather great biological and metabolic diversities, demonstrating endophytes are an excellent opportunity for the identification of microorganisms with potential for bioremediation and production of compounds with insecticidal activity

Em 2015, de acordo com a Organização Mundial da Saúde, o total de mortes na população humana foi de 52,5 milhões de pessoas, em que as doenças infecciosas mais especificamente, infecções respiratórias - aparecem em terceiro lugar no ranking de causas de morte. No total foram 3,5 milhões de mortes ou 6,7% do total, demonstrando um aumento significativo quando comparado com a pesquisa anterior, realizada em 2011, na qual as doenças infecciosas foram responsáveis por 3,2 milhões ou 5,9% do total. Das doenças infecciosas, podemos destacar a Malária, HIV/AIDS, Hepatite, Tuberculose - que aparece em 8º lugar neste mesmo ranking, e a Hanseníase - que é uma importante preocupação no Brasil. A tuberculose, causada pelo Mycobacterium tuberculosis sendo uma das principais causas de morte por doenças infecciosas na população humana, já apresenta cepas resistentes ao tratamento denominadas Cepas multirresistentes (MDR) e Cepas extremamente resistentes (XDR). Enquanto que a hanseníase, causada pelo Mycobacterium leprae, apesar de não ser letal, causa a invalidez dos portadores e o Brasil possui o segundo maior número de casos desta doença. Outro patógeno de importância médica é a Pseudomonas aeruginosa que causa sérias doenças em pacientes com baixa imunidade, principalmente aqueles em hospitais em especial, pacientes com queimaduras. A via do Folato tem despertado a atenção das indústrias farmacêuticas para o desenvolvimento de novos fármacos, uma vez que está via oferece seletividade para estes novos inibidores. Isso se deve ao fato de que o tetrahidrofolato é um componente essencial para os organismos procariotos, e apenas eles, precisam realizar a produção de novo desta substância, enquanto que os eucariotos, o adquirem através da alimentação. Entretanto, o surgimento de cepas resistentes não só reforça a necessidade do desenvolvimento de novos fármacos, mas também a compreensão dos mecanismos de resistências destas cepas. O presente trabalho tem como objetivo obter informações biofísicas e estruturais de três enzimas da via do folato, a 7,8 dihidroneopterina aldolase, dihidropteroato sintase e dihidrofolato redutase. Além disso, esse trabalho teve como objetivo a compreensão do mecanismo de resistência através da indução de mutações nos códons 53 e 55 na enzima dihidropteroato sintase (DHPS), caracterização estrutural preliminar da enzima DHNA e estudos estruturais da enzima DHFR em complexo com cicloguanil. Assim, neste trabalho foi realizado a clonagem gênica da região codificando do gene para a enzima DHNA e expressão da proteína recombinante, purificada e utilizada em ensaios biofísicos. Além disso a mutagênese sítio dirigida foi feita com o intuito de se produzir DHPSs mutantes (T70S e P72R), na qual foram utilizadas nos ensaios de ITC, fluorescência, e cristalização, o que possibilitou demonstrar que a resistência de M. leprae às sulfas pode ser devido a troca de uma prolina por uma arginina na posição 72. Por fim, para DHFR, foi possível obter sua estrutura em complexo com cicloguanil que possibilitou avaliar as diferenças estruturais entre a forma aberta e fechada desta enzima. Além disso, confirmamos que o grupo nicotidamida tem essencial importância para a interação com os ligantes. / In 2015, according to the World Health Organization, the total number of deaths in the human population was 52.5 million people, in which infectious diseases - specifically, respiratory infections - appear third in the ranking of causes of death. In total, 3.5 million deaths or 6.7% of the total occurred, showing a significant increase when compared to the previous survey conducted in 2011, in which infectious diseases accounted for 3.2 million or 5.9% of the total total. Of the infectious diseases, we can highlight Malaria, HIV / AIDS, Hepatitis, Tuberculosis - which appears in 8th place in this same ranking, and Leprosy - which is an important concern in Brazil. Tuberculosis, caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis is one of the main causes of death due to infectious diseases in the human population, and already presents resistant strains to the treatment - denominated multiresistant strains (MDR) and extremely resistant strains (XDR). While leprosy, caused by Mycobacterium leprae, despite not lethal, causes the invalidity of patients and Brazil has the second largest number of cases for this disease. Another pathogen of medical importance is Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which causes serious illness in patients with low immunity, especially those in hospitals - especially patients with burns. The Folate pathway has brought the attention of the pharmaceutical industries to the development of new drugs, since this pathway offers selectivity for these new inhibitors. This is since Tetrahydrofolate is an essential component for prokaryote organisms, and only they, need to perform the new production of this cofactor, while Eukaryotes acquire it through food. However, the emergence of resistant strains, not only reinforces the need for the development of new drugs, but also the understanding of the mechanisms of resistance of these strains. The aim of the present work was to obtain biophysical and structural information of three folate pathway enzymes, 7,8 dihydroneopterin aldolase, Dihydropteroate synthase and Dihydrofolate reductase. In addition, this work aimed to understand the mechanism of resistance through the induction of mutations at the codons 53 and 55 in the enzyme dihydropteroate synthase (DHPS), preliminary structurally characterize the DHNA enzyme and structurally study the enzyme DHFR in complex with cycloguanil. Thus, the cloning of the coding region of the gene for DHNA and the expression of the recombinant protein, purification and biophysical characterization were performed in this work. In addition, site-directed mutagenesis was performed aiming of producing mutant DHPSs (T70S and P72R), which were used in ITC, fluorescence, and crystallization tests to demonstrate that M. lepreae resistance to sulfas may be due to the exchange of a proline to an arginine at position 72. Finally, for DHFR, it was possible to obtain its structure in complex with cycloguanil which made it possible to evaluate the structural differences between the open and closed conformation of this enzyme. In addition, we have confirmed that the nicotidamide group has a crucial importance for interaction with the ligands.