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FRIMEDBIO-Fri prosj.st. med.,helse,biol

SPORE NANOFIBER: Exploring novel extremely heat and chemically resilient nanofibers expressed on bacterial spores

Alternative title: SPORE NANOFIBER: Utforskning av ekstremt varme og kjemisk motstandsdyktige nanofibre på bakteriesporer

Awarded: NOK 9.6 mill.

The ability to form endospores is a remarkable survival strategy used by many bacterial species. Bacillus cereus is a large group of bacteria whose spores are of food safety, industrial, medical and biodefense importance. Their spores are decorated with micrometers-long, a few nanometers wide endospore appendages called Enas. The team behind the SPORE NANOFIBER project has recently forced breakthrough by identifying the protein subunits that build the Enas and the genes encoding them. Notably, the Enas represent a completely novel type of protein nanofibers, with unique structural properties and self-assembly mechanisms, that have never been described before. The SPORE NANOFIBER project will use state-of the art cryo-electron microscopy, laser-tweezer technology, 3D-modelling, gene-knockouts, recombinant genes, various functional analyses to generate knowledge on Enas composition, 3D structure, assembly mechanisms and biophysiochemical and mechanical properties. We will examine the role of Enas in important B. cereus spore-related functions such as adhesion to abiotic surfaces and biofilm formation as well as in colonization of human intestinal tissue, plant surfaces and insect larvae. The proposed interdisciplinary project, with team-members from Norway, Belgium, and Sweden, with complementary competences within food safety, microbiology, structural biology, and biophysics, will result in a significant leap forward in the understanding of these extraordinary resilient fibers. This project has a great potential to generate knowledge that can be used to invent more efficient strategies to prevent B. cereus spore attachment-related problems in the food industry and in medicine. The Enas are also of high interest for bio-nanotechnology as they are highly flexible, exhibit an extreme heat-, chemical- and enzymatic resistance, and they can be produced in large quantities in vitro. As such they may generate ideas to future new high-performance materials.

Bacillus cereus sensu lato (s.l.) is a large group of bacteria whose endospores are of food safety, industrial, medical and biodefense importance. Their endospores are decorated with multiple micrometres-long, a few nanometres wide fibers (endospore appendages (Enas)). The team behind this proposal has recently forced a major breakthrough by identifying the protein subunits that build the Enas and the genes encoding them. Notably, they represent a completely novel type of proteinaceous nanofibers, with unique structural properties and self-assembly mechanisms, that have never been described before. They are the third type of pili ever described in Gram-positive species and the first spore pili that have ever been structurally and genetically characterized. We have so far identified two major structural types of Enas that are widely distributed among species belonging to the large B. cereus group of bacteria. The SPORE NANOFIBER will use state-of the art cryo-EM, lazer-tweezer technology, 3D-modelling, gene-knockouts, recombinant genes, various functional analyses and an insect larvae infection model to generate knowlede on Enas composition, 3D structure, assembly mechanisms and biophysiochemical and mechanical properties. We will examine the role of Enas in various spore-related functions such as colonization of abiotic surfaces and biofilm formation as well as in spore binding to intestinal mucosal surfaces of humans, animals and insect larvae. The Enas are also of high interest for bio-nanotechnology as they are highly flexible, exhibit an extreme heat-, chemical- and enzymatic resistance, and can be produced in large quantities in vitro. This project has a great potential to generate knowledge that can be used to invent more efficient strategies to prevent or reduce spore attachment-related problems in the food industry and in medicine. Altogether, the proposed project fits well with the call for proposal for “Project for Scientific Renewal”.

Funding scheme:

FRIMEDBIO-Fri prosj.st. med.,helse,biol

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