Alessandra Di Canito - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Alessandra Di Canito

Soil quality has been one of the major issues of the last decades, because of the increase of ant... more Soil quality has been one of the major issues of the last decades, because of the increase of anthropogenic pollution. Soil contains organisms that play vital functions such as nutrient and hydrological cycles and degradation of toxic compounds. Under stress conditions caused by contamination, soil microorganisms undergo several alterations. Molecular technologies use microbial communities as an ecological parameter in monitoring polluted sites, detecting community shifts in response to pollution. Bacteria belonging to Rhodococcus genus have an important role in the degradation of recalcitrant compounds. It is a metabolically versatile genus, widely distributed in nature. Rhodococcus spp. can degrade a wide range of organic compounds (aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons, halogenated, polychlorinated biphenyls, nitroaromatics, heterocyclic, nitriles, sulfuric, steroids, herbicides) and to survive in presence of toxic compounds, under desiccation conditions, carbon starvation, wide range of temperatures, UV irradiation and osmotic stress. In line with their catabolic diversity, they possess large and complex genomes, containing a multiplicity of catabolic genes, high genetic redundancy and a sophisticated regulatory network. gene aliA mediante esperimenti di RT e RT-qPCR. Una potenziale applicazione biotecnologica di questo lavoro è stata valutata in R. erythropolis MI2, studiando il pathway di degradazione dell'acido 4,4'-ditiobutirrico (DTDB). Esso è un promettente substrato per la sintesi dei politioesteri (PTE) poiché un suo intermedio metabolico, l'acido 4mercaptobutirrico ne è un precursore. L'obiettivo di questo studio è stato perseguito generando mutanti di delezione del ceppo MI2 per i geni coinvolti nelle reazioni finali del pathway di degradazione.

Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, 2020

Nowadays, the increase of the unconventional oil deposit exploitation and the amount of oil sands... more Nowadays, the increase of the unconventional oil deposit exploitation and the amount of oil sands process-affected waters (OSPW) in tailing ponds emerges the importance of developing bio-monitoring strategies for the restoration of these habitats. The major constituents of such deposits are naphthenic acids (NAs), emerging contaminant mixtures with toxic and recalcitrant properties. With the aim of developing bio-monitoring strategies based on culture-independent approach, we identified genes coding for enzymes involved in NA degradation from Rhodococcus opacus R7 genome, after the evaluation of its ability to mineralize model NAs. R. opacus R7 whole-genome analysis unveiled the presence of pobA and chcpca gene clusters putatively involved in NAs degradation. Gene expression analysis demonstrated the specific induction of R7 aliA1 gene, encoding for a long-chain-fatty-acid-CoA ligase, in the presence of cyclohexanecarboxylic acid (CHCA) and hexanoic acid (HA), selected as representative compounds for alicyclic and linear NAs, respectively. Therefore, aliA1 gene was selected as a molecular marker to monitor the biodegradative potential of slurry-phase sand microcosms in different conditions: spiked with CHCA, in the presence of R. opacus R7, the autochthonous microbial community, and combining these factors. Results revealed that the aliA1-targeting culture-independent approach could be a useful method for bio-monitoring of NA degradation in a model laboratory system.

Journal of Fungi

Riboflavin (RF), or vitamin B2, is an essential compound for yeast growth and a precursor of the ... more Riboflavin (RF), or vitamin B2, is an essential compound for yeast growth and a precursor of the flavin coenzymes, flavin mononucleotide (FMN) and flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD), involved in redox and non-redox processes. RF is a photosensitive compound involved in the light-struck taste (LST), a fault causing the formation of off-flavors that can develop when the wine is exposed to light in the presence of methionine (Met), as well. As both RF and Met can be associated with detrimental changes in wines, a better comprehension of its yeast-mediated production is relevant to predict the maintenance of the desired character of the wine. This study aims at assessing the production of flavin derivatives (FDs) and Met by S. cerevisiae oenological starters under laboratory conditions. The results showed the presence of extra- and intracellular FDs, and Met is a strain-dependent characteristic being also affected by the initial content of RF in the medium. This finding was confirmed whe...

Numbers of metabolic pathways deriving from metabolic reconstruction of R</i... more Numbers of metabolic pathways deriving from metabolic reconstruction of R. opacus R7 and Rhodococcus sp. BCP1 genomes.</p

Metabolic differences among R. opacus R7 and <i... more Metabolic differences among R. opacus R7 and Rhodococcus sp. BCP1 in presence of carbohydrates (AI, AII). Based on activity values of phenotype microarray analysis, threshold values were established for every plates. Determined thresholds were high (green), upper middle (light green), lower middle (orange) and low (red) for high, upper middle, lower middle and low activity, respectively.</p

Values in the matrix represent the percent of bases shared in regions longer than 300 bp... more Values in the matrix represent the percent of bases shared in regions longer than 300 bp.</p

Comparative organization of genetic determinants for the tested aliphatic and aromatic h... more Comparative organization of genetic determinants for the tested aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons in R. opacus R7 and Rhodococcus sp. BCP1 with R. jostii RHA1 as reference strain. Predicted genes (listed in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0139467#pone.0139467.s014" target="_blank">S7</a>, <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0139467#pone.0139467.s015" target="_blank">S8</a>, <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0139467#pone.0139467.s016" target="_blank">S9</a>, <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0139467#pone.0139467.s017" target="_blank">S10</a> Tables) and their orientation are shown by arrow. (A) alk gene cluster; (B) prm and smo gene cluster (smo gene cluster was organized in smoA encoding a methane monooxygenase component A, smoB encoding a methane monooxygenase component B, smoD and smoC encoding a methane monooxygenase regulatory protein and a methane monooxygenase component C, respectively); (C) akb gene cluster; (D) dsz gene cluster. When not specified, it means that genes were located on chromosome. Genes with unknown or hypothetical functions were reported as HP. Double slash indicates a distances between two genes more than 1 kb within the same plasmid or chromosome.</p

Uniqueness characteristics of the six compared Rhodococcus spp. strai... more Uniqueness characteristics of the six compared Rhodococcus spp. strains.</p

Accession Number of the main genes of R. opacus R7... more Accession Number of the main genes of R. opacus R7 and Rhodococcus sp. BCP1 strains discussed in this paper.</p

Metabolic differences among R. opacus R7 and <i... more Metabolic differences among R. opacus R7 and Rhodococcus sp. BCP1 in presence of different Phosphorous Sources (AI, AII) and Sulphur sources (B). Based on activity values of phenotype microarray analysis, threshold values were established for every plates. Determined thresholds were high (green), upper middle (light green), lower middle (orange) and low (red) for high, upper middle, lower middle and low activity, respectively.</p

List of the xenobiotic compounds tested in phenotype microarray analysis and EC the numb... more List of the xenobiotic compounds tested in phenotype microarray analysis and EC the numbers of the enzymes identified in R7 and BCP1 genomes and predicted to be involved in their metabolisms by DuctApe software.</p

Values in the matrix represent the percent of bases shared in regions longer than 300 bp... more Values in the matrix represent the percent of bases shared in regions longer than 300 bp.</p

Unique regions larger than 4 kb identified in R7 and BCP1 strains.</p

Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, 2020

Journal of Fungi

Values in the matrix represent the percent of bases shared in regions longer than 300 bp... more Values in the matrix represent the percent of bases shared in regions longer than 300 bp.</p

Uniqueness characteristics of the six compared Rhodococcus spp. strai... more Uniqueness characteristics of the six compared Rhodococcus spp. strains.</p

Metabolic differences among R. opacus R7 and <i... more Metabolic differences among R. opacus R7 and Rhodococcus sp. BCP1 in presence of different Phosphorous Sources (AI, AII) and Sulphur sources (B). Based on activity values of phenotype microarray analysis, threshold values were established for every plates. Determined thresholds were high (green), upper middle (light green), lower middle (orange) and low (red) for high, upper middle, lower middle and low activity, respectively.</p

Values in the matrix represent the percent of bases shared in regions longer than 300 bp... more Values in the matrix represent the percent of bases shared in regions longer than 300 bp.</p

Unique regions larger than 4 kb identified in R7 and BCP1 strains.</p