US-Egypt Cooperative Research: Biodiversity of Aerobic and Anaerobic Alkalithermophiles & Their Industrial Enzymes, Form Alkaline Lakes (Wadi el Natron) & Hot Springs

0211100 Wiegel描述：该奖项是为了支持格鲁吉亚雅典格鲁吉亚大学微生物学系Juergen Wiegel博士和埃及亚历山大穆巴拉克市科学研究和技术应用生物技术研究所Osama Sobieh博士的联合研究项目。 该项目有两个主要目标：第一，阐明来自埃及Wadi el Natron和温泉的多方面（高温，碱性pH值和（部分）高盐）极端微生物的生物多样性，以及新细菌的特性，第二，在实验室规模上从这些极端微生物生产工业酶，即，筛选所需的工业上重要的酶，优化产率和在嗜温宿主中表达靶基因以帮助纯化嗜热/稳定蛋白质。这些恶劣的环境中有几个只是表面上的研究，只有很少的微生物已被分离出来，至今。尤其是开罗和亚历山大之间的纳特龙湖，以及靠近红海的温泉，这两个地方都有独特的微生物。直到最近，一种新的极端微生物，即厌氧嗜碱菌，才由一个PI建立起来，但对这些细菌的了解并不多。洗衣洗涤剂）需要在高温下在高碱性环境中稳定的酶。 这项研究将从国外的自然资源中确定可以在这些极端环境中产生酶的生物体。 该合作项目将促进美国和埃及科学家在生物多样性和工业酶领域的科学和教育交流，并将支持美国研究生参与这一国际合作努力。

0211100WiegelDescription: This award is for support of a joint research project by Dr. Juergen Wiegel, Department of Microbiology, the University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia and Dr. Osama Sobieh, Biotechnology Institute, Mubarak City for Scientific Research and Technological Application, Alexandria, Egypt. This project has two main goals: first, elucidation of the biodiversity of the multifaceted (elevated temperatures, alkaline pH, and (partly) high salt at the same time) extremophiles from Wadi el Natron and hot springs in Egypt and the characterization of the novel bacteria and second, production of industrial enzymes from these extremophiles at the bench scale, i.e., screening for the desired industrially important enzymes, optimization of production yields and expression of the target genes in a mesophilic host to aid in the purification of the thermophilic/stable proteins. Several of these harsh environments have been only superficially studied and only very few microorganisms have been isolated from them so far. This is especially true for the Natron Lakes of Wadi el Natron between Cairo and Alexandria and hot springs close to the Red Sea, both expected to harbor unique microorganisms. Only recently a novel group of extremophiles, the anaerobic alkalithermophiles, has been established by one of the PIs and not much is known about these bacteria Scope: Many biotechnological and industrial applications (e.g., laundry detergents) require enzymes, which are stable at elevated temperatures in a highly alkaline milieu. This research will identify organisms from a natural source in a foreign country that can produce enzymes at these extreme environments. This collaborative project will foster scientific and educational exchanges between US and Egypt scientists in the area of biodiversity and industrial enzymes, and will support the participation of a U.S. graduate student in this international cooperative effort.