Metagenomics and polyphasic analysis from paulista coast cyanobacterial community

Abstract

The marine cyanobacteria dominate quantitatively the oceans on a global scale. They are of immense importance for carbon sequestration in these ecosystems, significantly contributing to the global primary production. Besides the ability to reduce carbon dioxide through the process of photosynthesis, many cyanobacteria are also capable of performing the biological fixation of atmospheric nitrogen. Moreover, they are identified as one of the most promising groups of organisms for the isolation of biochemically active new natural products with potential biotechnological application. Studies on cyanobacteria in the Brazilian Atlantic coast are scarce and restricted to floristic surveys by means of observations in optical microscopy. Therefore, this project aims to isolate marine phytoplanctonic cyanobacteria from São Paulo coast, identify these isolates observing the morphology under optic microscopy and to realize phylogenetic studies using gene makers, such as rRNA operon, with the aim of finding species not yet described. As it is difficult to cultivate all the species in an environmental sample, is intended to evaluate the total diversity of cyanobacteria community that inhabit the Atlantic coast in São Paulo using methods independent of cultivation (metagenomic library), also to access the functional activity, by means of evaluating genes involved in secondary metabolism. Finally, due to the importance of isolate organisms for physiology studies, as well as to obtain bioactive compounds, we wish to build a culture databank of marine cyanobacteria, with the purpose of conducting further bioprospection studies. (AU)