Tune in for our last (π) APH session of this semester next WEDNESDAY, May 14th, at 10 AM EST / 4 PM CET!!! Check your email soon for the Zoom link or sign up to join our mailing list here: t.co/b17JFAaZQ6. Check out the exciting talks we have planned for you:
@fwovlaanderen.bsky.social
6/x
A huge thank you to Radwa Moanis, Hannelore Geeraert, Niko Van den Brande, Ulrich Hennecke, Stanislav ObruΔa, Iva BuchtΓkovΓ‘, Karel SedlΓ‘Ε, Petr SedlΓ‘Δek β and of course, Eveline Peeters π β for their expertise, insights, and invaluable contributions to this work!
5/x
This opens exciting questions: How do their enzymes and granule structures cope with heat? Could they inspire heat-stable PHA production platforms?
Answering these could push the frontiers and enable next-gen bioplastic production under extreme conditions.
#Extremophiles #Bioplastics
4/x
π§ͺ Limited energy yield in hot, often anaerobic environments?
𧬠Cytoplasmic crowding from PHA granules disrupts molecular diffusion?
π§ Higher risk of water loss and cytoplasmic dehydration?
π‘οΈ Thermal instability of amorphous PHA granules leads to aggregation or crystallization?
3/x
π Why oh why is PHA accumulation such a common strategy in mesophiles and moderate thermophiles but not in extreme thermophiles?
2/x
π₯π₯π₯ However, when looking at the genomes of extremely thermophilic microorganisms we found that PHA producers became MUCH scarcer. We couldn't find hits within the bacterial domain and found only a few hits in the archaeal domain belonging to Ferroglobus sp. Archaeoglobus sp. and Geoglobus sp.
1/x
π₯ As confirmed in existing literature, we did find a lot of examples of moderately thermophilic microorganisms which can produce PHAs, both in the archaeal and the bacterial domain.
π₯π£ New preprint out! So glad to share this chapter of my PhD thesis with the #thermophiles and #polyhydroxyalkanoate community!
βοΈWhat did we do --> We built a bioinformatics pipeline to scan thermophilic genomes for phaC, the key gene for bioplastic production.
2/x
π₯π₯π₯ However, when looking at the genomes of extremely thermophilic microorganisms we found that PHA producers became MUCH scarcer. We couldn't find hits within the bacterial domain and found only a few hits in the archaeal domain belonging to Ferroglobus sp. Archaeoglobus sp. and Geoglobus sp.
1/x
π₯ As confirmed in existing literature, we did find a lot of examples of moderately thermophilic microorganisms which can produce PHAs, both in the archaeal and the bacterial domain.
Preprint alert! Iβm publishing my last paper from my postdoc work on archaeal cell biology, with @mullinslab.bsky.social, @archaellum.bsky.social, @samjlord.bsky.social, @marleenvw.bsky.social, @arghya93.bsky.social, and more great folks (thread below with more details)
It's that time again! Make sure to tune in THIS WEDNESDAY, March 12th, at 11AM EST (note the time change) / 4 PM CET to catch two exciting talks from @cjhines.bsky.social and Priyanka Chatterjee!! Check your email for the Zoom link or visit our website for more info on how to join (link in bio).
The chaotic energy we all need on a Friday π.
Looking forward to the new APH series! Next Wednesday, don't miss out!
Archaea aficionados around the world, APH is now on BlueSky! Follow us for virtual conference announcements and more π¦
