From left to right: María Jesús Rodríguez (IATA-CSIC), Patricia Martorell (ADM Biopolis), Manel Porcar (I2SysBio and Darwin Bioprospecting Excellence) and Kristie Tanner (Darwin Bioprospecting Excellence). Source: FPCUV

This study opens the door to the potential design of new pharmaceutical or cosmetic treatments against oxidative stress. It has been carried out by the Institute of Integrative Systems Biology (UV-CSIC), the Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology (IATA-CSIC) and the companies Darwin Bioprospecting Excellence and ADM Biopolis, located in the Scientific Park of the University of Valencia.

The discovery of new antioxidants extracted from natural sources, such as now plants and microorganisms, arouses great interest in the pharmaceutical and food industries in order to combat stress oxidative, associated with various diseases, including Alzheimer's, hypertension and cancer. Along these lines, research developed within the Science Park of the University of Valencia, where the scientific knowledge and technologies of various research institutes and innovative companies have collaborated, points to some strains of the bacterial communities that grow on solar panels as potential antioxidants and protectors against ultraviolet radiation.

“The general objective was to increase knowledge about the bacterial communities that live on artificial surfaces in extreme conditions, in such a way that we can understand the molecular mechanisms that make it possible their survival and apply this knowledge to develop biotechnological applications," explains Manel Porcar, principal investigator of the project. href="https://www.uv.es/uvweb/instituto-biologia-integrativa-sistemas-i2sysbio/es/investigacion/grupos-investigacion/biotecnologia-biologia-syntetica/proyectos/proyectos-actuales/helios-1286065119075/ProjecteInves.html?id=1286071715443" "We start from the idea that Bacteria that grow in environments with high solar radiation and desiccation have various strategies to combat the extreme conditions to which they are exposed. These adaptations include efficient DNA repair systems, pigment production and protection against oxidative stress," adds Kristie Tanner, R&D project coordinator at Darwin Bioprospecting Excellence. "For this reason, we decided to study the microbial communities that inhabit the surfaces of 6 solar panels located in the Faculty of Economics of the University of Valencia."

In the study, the use of nematode Caenorhabditis elegans as an animal model for evaluation was key for rapid in vivo scrutiny of the biological activity of candidate bacteria “It has been used in research for more than 40 years, being one of the best described animals in biology. In ADM Biopolis this nematode allows us to evaluate the functionality of different ingredients, such as plant extracts, probiotics or even drugs,” says Patricia Martorell, head of the biotechnology company's Cellular Biology Laboratory.

In this case, to evaluate a high number of samples, it is used an innovative automated system available at ADM Biopolis that allows biological measurements to be carried out simultaneously with a high number of samples. These assays showed that three of the microorganisms in the study had greater antioxidant power than vitamin C. These were Planomicrobium sp., Rhodobacter sp. and Bacillus sp. In addition, the C elegans model was also used. to confirm the protective effect of microorganisms against ultraviolet radiation, especially the first two.

“It caught our attention that these bacteria have red, orange or yellow pigmentation, which is linked to the production of carotenoids. It is therefore demonstrated, once again, that these natural pigments can play an important role in protecting against harmful ionizing radiation and oxidative stress," point out the researchers from the Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology (IATA, CSIC) Lorenzo Zacarías and María Jesús Rodrigo, specialists in the study of carotenoids.

In conclusion, the research team points out that the preparation of extracts of these selected bacteria or artificial combinations of their active components could be useful for the design of new treatments against diseases where oxidative stress plays a crucial role. The research has been published in the scientific journal Frontiers inMicrobiology.

The origin that drove this research was the project MICROBIOSOL ('Bioprospecting, scrutiny and identification in solar panels of microorganisms and metabolites of biotechnological interest'), carried out by the company ADM Biopolis with the participation of I2SysBio and financed by the Valencian Institute of Business Competitiveness. From this, the project HELIOS, promoted by I2SysBio with financing from FEDER Funds and the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness.