title: Selecting microbial strains from pine tree resin: biotechnological applications from a terpene world.
abstract: Resin is a chemical and physical defensive barrier secreted by many plants, especially coniferous trees, with insecticidal and antimicrobial properties. The degradation of terpenes, the main components accounting for the toxicity of resin, is highly relevant for a vast range of biotechnological processes, including bioremediation. In the present work, we used a resin-based selective medium in order to study the resin-tolerant microbial communities associated with the galls formed by the moth Retinia resinella; as well as resin from Pinus sylvestris forests, one of the largest ecosystems on Earth and a yet-unexplored source of terpene-degrading microorganisms. The taxonomic and functional diversity of the cultivated, resin-tolerant fraction of the whole microbiota were unveiled by high-throughput sequencing, which resulted in the detection of more than 40 bacterial genera among the terpene-degrading microorganisms, and a range of genes involved in the degradation of different terpene families. We further characterized through culture-based approaches and transcriptome sequencing selected microbial strains, including Pseudomonas sp., the most abundant species in both environmental resin and R. resinella resin-rich galls, and three fungal species, and experimentally confirmed their ability to degrade resin and also other terpene-based compounds and, thus, their potential use in biotechnological applications involving terpene catabolism.
authors: Universitat de València (Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutive Biology), Valencia, Spain.
authors: Cristina
authors: C
authors: Vilanova
authors: Universitat de València (Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutive Biology), Valencia, Spain.
authors: Maria
authors: M
authors: Marín
authors: Universitat de València (Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutive Biology), Valencia, Spain.
authors: Joaquín
authors: J
authors: Baixeras
authors: Universitat de València (Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutive Biology), Valencia, Spain; Unidad Mixta de Investigación en Genómica y Salud, Centro Superior de Investigación en Salud Pública (CSISP), València, Spain.
authors: Amparo
authors: A
authors: Latorre
authors: Universitat de València (Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutive Biology), Valencia, Spain; Fundació General de la Universitat de València, València, Spain.
authors: Manuel
authors: M
authors: Porcar
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology; D001709:Biotechnology; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005658:Fungi / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D009036:Moths / Q000378:metabolism; D010802:Phylogeny; D028223:Pinus / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D010941:Plant Tumors / Q000382:microbiology; D011549:Pseudomonas / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D012337:RNA, Ribosomal, 18S / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D012116:Resins, Plant / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013729:Terpenes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D059467:Transcriptome
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D012337:RNA, Ribosomal, 18S; D012116:Resins, Plant; D013729:Terpenes; C013893:rosin