‘Response of the microbiota of marine sediments to oil pollution. Naphthalene as a model compound’

Ana Belén Suárez Suárez, Antonio Jesús Molina Henares, Javier Ignacio Medina Bellver, Jenny Dussan Garzón, Jocelyn Brito Echeverría, Luis Alejandro Acosta González, Micaela García Martínez, Paola Andrea Vargas Gallego, Patricia Domínguez Cuevas, Pedro Felipe de Brito Branado, Ramón Roselló i Mora, Trinidad Gallegos Fernández.

The study will be carried out using molecular tools.We will use naphthalene as a model compound and in situ labelling with stable isotopes (13C-SIP) in order to detect the expression of genes acting on this substance and associate them to the organisms leading the response. Our approach is based on the construction and analysis of metagenomic libraries from the heavy DNA obtained from sediments treated with 13C-naphthalene. We expect to rescue genes involved in the response to the presence of naphthalene. A key part of this response are mechanisms of resistance based on efflux pumps, whose presence and expression will likewise be analysed in situ. Finally, the naphthalene response transcriptome will be constructed from heavy mRNA to identify the most important functions. The results obtained will be compiled in a database available to the scientific community. The first practical application of the new regulation systems identified will be the design of functional biosensors in anaerobiosis.