Biocompounds from Haloarchaea and Their Uses in Biotechnology

Abstract

New advances in the understanding of haloarchaea physiology, metabolism, biochemistry, and molecular biology show that these kinds of microorganisms produce several compounds in response to the extreme conditions of their ecosystems. Thus, the complete metabolic and genetic machineries are fully adapted to nutrient starvation, high sun radiation, and high ionic strength. Due to these adaptations, some of the primary and secondary metabolites produced by haloarchaea are of high interest in terms of potential biotechnological uses. The principal goal of the chapter is to present a review about the main characteristics of these biocompounds and their potential uses in biomedicine, pharmacy, and industry.

In vitro dual (anticancer and antiviral) activity of the carotenoids produced by haloalkaliphilic archaeon Natrialba sp. M6

“…M6, where the pH was adjusted to 9-11. Pigments are usually produce as a secondary metabolites, thus it is noteworthy that old cultures showed a significant increase in the production of archaeal carotenoid 13 . Moreover, Rodriguez-Valera et al, reported a variation of pigmentation according to the salt concentration of the medium in the genus Halobacterium 14 .…”

Introductory Chapter: A Brief Overview on Fermentation and Challenges for the Next Future

“…Shortly after this period, several works increased the interest of scientific community on looking for extremophilic microbes showing 'rare' or 'specific' metabolic capabilities (even under anoxia) susceptible of being used in industries (Food, Green Biotechnology, Biomedicine, etc.). This was the case of the use of hyperthermophilic microorganisms first [20,21], members of Archaea domain [22] or nonconventional yeast like Yarrowia lipolytica from which production of oils and fats has been recently reported [23].…”

Heterologous and Homologous Expression of Proteins from Haloarchaea: Denitrification as Case of Study

“…Moreover, the enzymes of denitrification are of interest due to their potential uses in biotechnology: design of biosensors to measure nitrate or nitrite in wastewater, immobilization of enzymes for processes based on electrochemistry (wastewater treatments), etc. [75][76][77][78]. Three of these four enzymes are metalloenzymes in haloarchaea:…”

“…Optimization of both homologous protein overexpression and subsequent protein purification will promote potential uses of denitrifying enzymes in biotechnology and industries. Thus, those enzymes could be of high interest for the design and development of enzymatic immobilization procedures for wastewater treatments or the design of enzyme-based biosensors to monitor nitrate/nitrite concentrations in water containing high salt concentrations, which is one of the challenges to be overcame in the near future [76][77][78].…”