Unit of Applied and General Microbiology
Lab of Applied and General Microbiology
tel. ++39 051 209 1285/6
fax ++39 051 242576
Group Leader: Prof. Davide Zannoni
E-mail : davide.zannoni@unibo.it
Research in progress :
- Characterization of butane and propane monooxygenases of several Gram-positive isolates from enriched propane/butane bacterial consortia during the co-metabolic bioremediation of chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons (trichloroethylene, vinyl chloride, 1,1,2-trichloroethane, chloroform).
- Molecular ecology of aerobic bacteria which use biphenyl as the only carbon source and are able to co-metabolise several congeners of polychlorinated biphenyls. T-RFLP and clone libraries are used to determine the structure and composition of indigenous bacterial communities able to degrade polychlorinated biphenyls. The molecular characterisation is mainly based on 16S rDNA, and on metabolic genes involved in PCB degradation (biphenyl dioxygenase, chlorobenzoate- and catechol oxygenases).
- Effects of toxic metalloids on the metabolism and bioenergetics of aerobic and facultative phototrophic microrganisms. The toxicity of several metalloid oxyanions depends on their high solubility and oxidant capacity. The strategies adopted by several bacterial species of the genera Pseudomonas and Rhodobacter exhibiting a strong tellurite resistance, and the effects generated by this metalloid on the arrangement of the plasma membrane redox complexes and on the maturation and activity of proteins located in the periplasmic space are investigated.
Funding :
MIPAF (PANDA) 1999
PRIN 1999-2001 (MIUR)
PRIN 2001-2003 (MIUR)
PRIN 2003-2005 (MIUR)
Local funding (UniBo): ex quota 60%
Patents :
-
Selected Publications :
- Borsetti F, Tremaroli V, Michelacci F, Borghese R, Winterstein C, Daldal F. (2005) Tellurite effects on Rhodobacter capsulatus cell viability and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity under oxidative stress conditions. Research in Microbiology (I.F. 2.301) 156:807-813
- Zannoni D. (2004) Respiration in Archaea and Bacteria (Zannoni D., Ed.) Advances in Photosynthesis and respiration. Springer, Heidelberg-Berlin-New York Vol.s 15 and 16, ISBN 1-4020-2001-5 and 1-4020-2002-3
- Borghese R, Borsetti F, Foladori P, Ziglio G, Zannoni D. (2004) Effects of the metalloid oxyanion tellurite on the growth characteristics of the phototrophic bacterium Rhodobacter capsulatus. Environ Microbiol 70:6595-6602
- Borsetti F, Toninello A, Zannoni D. (2003) Tellurite uptake by cells of the facultative phototroph Rhodobacter capsulatus is a delta pH dependent process. FEBS Lett. 554:315-318
- Fava F, Bertin L, Fedi S, Zannoni D. (2002) Methyl-beta-cyclodestrin enhanced solubilization and aerobic biodegradation of polychlorinated biphenyls in two aged-contaminated soils. Biotech. Bioengineering 81:381-390
- Zanaroli G, Fedi S, Carnevali M, Fava F, Zannoni D. (2002) Use of potassium tellurite for testing survival and viability of Pseudomonas alcaligenes KF707 in soil microcosms contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Res. Microbiol. 153:353-360
- DiTomaso G, Fedi S, Carnevali M, Manegatti M, Taddei C, Zannoni D. (2002) The membrane bound respiratory chain of Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes KF707 cells grown in the presence or absence of potassium tellurite Microbiology 148:1699-1708
- DiTomaso G, Borghese R, Zannoni D. (2001) ATP assay in intact cells of the facultative phototroph Rhodobacter capsulatus expressing recombinant firefly luciferase. Arch. Microbiol. 177:11-19
- Borghese R, Zagnoli A, Zannoni D. (2001) Plasmid transfer and susceptibility to antibiotics in the halophilic phototrophs Rhodovibrio salinarum and Rhodothalassium salexigens. FEMS Microbiol. Lett. 197:117-121
- Fedi S, Carnevali M, Fava F, Andracchio A, Zappoli S, Zannoni D. (2001) Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs) degradation activities and hybridization analyses of fifteen aerobic strains isolated from a PCB-contaminated site. Res. Microbiol. 152:583-592
Postgraduate training :
- Ph.D. Program in Cellular, Molecular and Industrial Biology (Project n. 2: Functional Biology of Cellular and Molecular Systems)
Collaborations :
-Laboratory: Prof. F.Fava, Dept of Applied Chemistry & Science of Materials, Fac. of Engineering, University of Bologna, Bo-I. Research line on: Analytical procedures for analysis of xenobiotics in microbial remediation processes.
-Laboratory: Prof. F.Daldal, Dept of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA. Research line on: Maturation and biogenesis of periplasmic redox proteins in Rhodobacter capsulatus grown in the presence or absence of metalloid oxyanions.
-Laboratory: Prof. G.Ziglio, Dept of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Trento, Trento, Italy. Research line on: The use of cytofluorimetry applied to the analysis of environmental microbial samples.
-Laboratory: Prof. R. Turner, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary Canada. Bacterial resistance to oxyanions in isolated bacterial cells and biofilms.
Links :
Ph.D. Program in Functional Biology of Cellular and Molecular Systems
http://www.dipartimentobiologia.it/doctoraltraining/zannoni.asp
Prof. F. Daldal, Philadelphia PA USA
http://www.bio.upenn.edu/faculty/daldal/
Prof. F.Fava, DICASM Bologna
http://tori.ing.unibo.it/DICASM/dicasm.htm
Prof. G. Ziglio, Univ. Trento
http://www.ing.unitn.it
Prof. R. Turner, University of Calgary, Canada
http://www.bio.calgary.ca/divisions/biochem/turner.html
Research group :
Davide Zannoni (Full Professor)
Roberto Borghese (Research Associate)
Stefano Fedi (Research Associate)
Monica Carnevali (Postdoc)
Valentina Tramaroli (Postdoc)
Francesca Borsetti (PhD student)
