- Possui graduação em Ciências Farmacêuticas pela Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (1993) e doutorado em Bioqu... morePossui graduação em Ciências Farmacêuticas pela Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (1993) e doutorado em Bioquimica pela Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (1999). Realizou Estagio Senior no Exterior financiado pela CAPES em cooperação tecnica cientifica com o Dr. Gareth Griffith, na Universidade de Aberystwyth, País de Gales, Reino Unido sobre o estudo do fungo Moniliophthora perniciosa, causador da doença vassoura de bruxa. Tem formação em radiofotobiologia. Tem experiência na área de Genética e Biotecnologia, com ênfase em genética molecular e de microorganismos, atuando principalmente nos seguintes temas: Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Moniliophthora perniciosa, estresse oxidativo, reparo de DNA e avaliação genotóxica de produtos químicos e físicos, e de bioprodutos. Foi membro da Comissão Interna de Biossegurança e tambem secretária executiva. Foi membro do Nucleo de Inovação Tecnológica até 2015. Foi coordenadora do Programa de Pós-graduação em Biologia e Biotecnologia de Microrganismos nos anos de 2010-2014. Atualmente é professora Plena da disciplina de Biofísica e responsável pelo Laboratório de Biologia de Fungos, orientadora de mestrado e doutorado nos PPG em Biologia e Biotecnologia de Microrganismos da UESC e RENORBIO.edit
DNA isolation from some fungal organisms is difficult because they have cell walls or capsules that are relatively unsusceptible to lysis. Beginning with a yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae genomic DNA isolation method, we developed a 30-min... more
DNA isolation from some fungal organisms is difficult because they have cell walls or capsules that are relatively unsusceptible to lysis. Beginning with a yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae genomic DNA isolation method, we developed a 30-min DNA isolation protocol for filamentous fungi by combining cell wall digestion with cell disruption by glass beads. High-quality DNA was isolated with good yield from the hyphae of Crinipellis perniciosa, which causes witches' broom disease in cacao, from three other filamentous fungi, Lentinus edodes, Agaricus blazei, Trichoderma stromaticum, and from the yeast S. cerevisiae. Genomic DNA was suitable for PCR of specific actin primers of C. perniciosa, allowing it to be differentiated from fungal contaminants, including its natural competitor, T. stromaticum.
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The present in vitro study evaluates antifungal properties of Spondias purpurea plant extract against Moniliophthora perniciosa. Fractions of Ethanol Crude Extracts (CE) from S. purpurea were tested for their antifungal activity. CE... more
The present in vitro study evaluates antifungal properties of Spondias purpurea plant extract against Moniliophthora perniciosa. Fractions of Ethanol Crude Extracts (CE) from S. purpurea were tested for their antifungal activity. CE inhibited mycelial growth of M. perniciosa by 60%at a dose of 10 mg/mL, while survival of broken hyphae of the fungus was inactivated by 90% at a dose of 8 mg/mL. Fractionation of CE yielded a terpene containing sub fraction (FA) with the highest fungicidal activity. FA acted as oxidant and its application induced oxidative stress in M. perniciosa that may be the responsible for the observed induced cell death. The chromatographic profile obtained with FA of S. purpurea revealed a variety of terpenes, which included Spathulenol (14.2%), Linolenic acid (8.4%), trans Caryophyllene (6.9%), and Alpha-muurolene (6.9%).This study describes for the first time effects of terpenes of S. purpurea related to induced oxidative stress in fungus. S. purpurea, therefore, may be a natural source for isolation of antifungal compounds against M. perniciosa. This characteristic may be useful in application as botanical fungicide in biological control.
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Theobroma cacao L. contains more than 500 different chemical compounds some of which have been traditionally used for their antioxidant, anti-carcinogenic, immunomodulatory, vasodilatory, analgesic, and antimicrobial activities.... more
Theobroma cacao L. contains more than 500 different chemical compounds some of which have been traditionally used for their antioxidant, anti-carcinogenic, immunomodulatory, vasodilatory, analgesic, and antimicrobial activities. Spontaneous aerobic fermentation of cacao husks yields a crude husk extract (CHE) with antimicrobial activity. CHE was fractioned by solvent partition with polar solvent extraction or by silica gel chromatography and a total of 12 sub-fractions were analyzed for chemical composition and bioactivity. CHE was effective against the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and the basidiomycete Moniliophthora perniciosa. Antibacterial activity was determined using 6 strains: Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, and Bacillus subtilis (Gram-positive) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Salmonella choleraesuis (Gram-negative). At doses up to 10 mg/mL, CHE was not effective against the Gram-positive bacteria tested but against medically import...
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The sensitivity responses of seven pso mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae towards the mutagens N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA), 1,2:7,8-diepoxyoctane (DEO), and 8-hydroxyquinoline (8HQ) further substantiated their allocation into two... more
The sensitivity responses of seven pso mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae towards the mutagens N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA), 1,2:7,8-diepoxyoctane (DEO), and 8-hydroxyquinoline (8HQ) further substantiated their allocation into two distinct groups: genes PSO1 (allelic to REV3), PSO2 (SNM1), PSO4 (PRP19), and PSO5 (RAD16) constitute one group in that they are involved in repair of damaged DNA or in RNA processing whereas genes PSO6 (ERG3) and PSO7 (COX11) are related to metabolic steps protecting from oxidative stress and thus form a second group, not responsible for DNA repair. PSO3 has not yet been molecularly characterized but its pleiotropic phenotype would allow its integration into either group. The first three PSO genes of the DNA repair group and PSO3, apart from being sensitive to photo-activated psoralens, have another common phenotype: they are also involved in error-prone DNA repair. While all mutants of the DNA repair group and pso3 were sensitive to DEO and NDEA the pso...
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The main goal of this work was to determine the concentration of Sn2+ ions in cells of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and to correlate their quantity with the genotoxicity of intracellularly accumulated metal ions. The intracellular... more
The main goal of this work was to determine the concentration of Sn2+ ions in cells of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and to correlate their quantity with the genotoxicity of intracellularly accumulated metal ions. The intracellular metal content of yeast cells was determined by PIXE (particle-induced X-ray emission) after cell exposure to SnCl2. To that end, a thick target protocol
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Research Interests: Genetics, Toxicology, DNA damage, DNA repair, Environmental Biotechnology, and 12 moreSaccharomyces cerevisiae, Mutagenesis, Toxicity, Mutation, Reactive Oxygen Species, Escherichia coli, Salmonella Typhimurium, Microbial genetic and drug resistance, Catalase, Superoxide Dismutase, Genetic Recombination, and Species Specificity
Research Interests: Genetics, Microbiology, Plant Biology, Fluorescence Microscopy, DNA repair, and 15 morePlant Molecular Biology, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Copper, Membrane transport, Cacao, Theobroma Cacao, Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate-Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis, Molecular Plant Microbe Interactions, Temperature Dependence, Host Pathogen Interactions, Amino Acid Sequence, PLANT PROTEINS, Plasma Membrane, cDNA library, and Nucleotides
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Autophagy is defined as an intracellular system of lysosomal degradation in eukaryotic cells, and the genes involved in this process are conserved from yeast to humans. Among these genes, ATG8 encodes a ubiquitin-like protein that is... more
Autophagy is defined as an intracellular system of lysosomal degradation in eukaryotic cells, and the genes involved in this process are conserved from yeast to humans. Among these genes, ATG8 encodes a ubiquitin-like protein that is conjugated to a phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) membrane by the ubiquitination system. The Atg8p-PE complex is important in initiating the formation of the autophagosome and thus plays a critical role in autophagy. In silico modeling of Atg8p of Moniliophthora perniciosa revealed its three-dimensional structure and enabled comparison with its Saccharomyces cerevisiae homologue ScAtg8p. Some common and distinct features were observed between these two proteins, including the conservation of residues required to allow the interaction of α-helix1 with the ubiquitin core. However, the electrostatic potential surfaces of these helices differ, implying particular roles in selecting specific binding partners. The proposed structure was validated by the programs PROCHECK 3.4, ANOLEA, and QMEAN, which demonstrated 100% of amino acids located in favorable regions with low total energy. Our results showed that MpAtg8p contains the same functional domains (3 α-helices and 4 β-sheets) and is similar in structure as the ScAtg8p yeast. Both proteins have many conserved sequences in common, and therefore, their proposed three-dimensional models show similar configuration.