What is it about?
Biofilm formation is a major problem inside industrial facilities. Biofilms are complex slimes secreted by the microbes adhering to exposed surfaces. It protects the thriving microbes from external abrasion, including removal using disinfectants and soaps. Consequently, combating biofilm formation requires aggressive chemicals and mechanical procedures in industrial production plants. The alkaloids from the venom of an invasive species (aka fire ants) is herein demonstrated as biomolecules with strong antibiofilm activity. Furthermore, prolonged exposure to venom alkaloids is demonstrated to condition treated surfaces with prolonged antimicrobial effects, suggesting a novel biotechnological potential for these molecules.
Featured Image
Photo by Ian Espinosa on Unsplash
Why is it important?
New strategies and technologies are continuously proposed to prevent the formation of resistant biofilms and establishment of resilient microbes in structural plants, such as hospitals, food industry. The harsh chemical and physical treatments currently employed offer additional threats to human welfare and environment, indicating the need for new molecules. The alkaloids focused on by the present investigation are the main toxins in the venom of a world top invasive species of insect, thus the biotech potential could add economic interest to exploiting the pest.
Perspectives
This project is a mere part of a multifaceted investigation into the biotechnological applications of naturally-occurring alkaloids, with special emphasis on the venom solenopsins of the invasive fire ants. The collaboration with groups specialising on different backgrounds is essential to producing such reports with direct technological implications. On a personal basis, I also took advantage of the opportunity to develop a bit further my efforts on making raw data and stats analyses fully available to any readers using R, which I hope will speed up and facilitate future research by peers in the field. Looking forwards to hearing some feedback!
Dr Eduardo G P Fox
IBCCF / UFRJ
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Fire Ant Venom Alkaloids Inhibit Biofilm Formation, Toxins, July 2019, MDPI AG,
DOI: 10.3390/toxins11070420.
You can read the full text:
Resources
A brief review on the history and biotech applications of fire ant toxins
A comprehensive and illustrative overview on the toxins of fire ants and their proposed biological activities and biotech applications, written by one of the main authors of the present manuscript.
Solenopsins [Definition via Wikipedia Entry]
A short definition and overview of chemistry and biology of the alkaloids known as solenopsins, focused on by the present investigation.
Rapid configuration analysis of the solenopsins [and Straightforward Synthesis]
A short manuscript describing essential chemical properties of solenopsis during lab synthesis. A central resource for producing synthetic fire ant venom.
Video Abstract [Available from both YouTube and Publisher Website]
Illustrative Brief Explanation prepared by main authors in the lab surroundings.
Contributors
The following have contributed to this page
