Jorge VerdínCIATEJ-Jalisco State Scientific Research and Technology Assistance Center · Industrial Biotechnology
Jorge Verdín
PhD
About
19
Publications
5,998
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566
Citations
Citations since 2017
Introduction
I’m interested in the development of cell surface protein display technologies for filamentous fungi, with special focus in N. crassa. My research spans from basic phylogenomics, cell biology and biochemical aspects of cell wall proteins to the development of Neurosporas’ cell surface engineered strains with relevant biotechnological assets.
I’m also interested in the dynamics of plant’s associated microbiomes with a systemic phytobiome perspective to develop sustainable agriculture solutions.
Additional affiliations
July 2013 - present
CIATEJ-Jalisco State Scientific Research and Technology Assistance Center
Position
- Researcher
March 2009 - February 2012
Technion-Israel Institute of Technology
Position
- PostDoc Position
July 2006 - August 2008
Center for Scientific Research and Higher Education of Ensenada-CICESE
Position
- PostDoc Position
Education
May 2002 - June 2006
Institute of Biotechnology, National University of Mexico
Field of study
- Biochemistry
August 1999 - May 2002
Institute of Biotechnology, National University of Mexico
Field of study
- Biochemistry
January 1995 - August 1999
University of Guanajuato
Field of study
- Chemistry
Publications
Publications (19)
Astaxanthin is one of the most attractive carotenoids for food, pharmaceutical and
cosmetics industries due to its high antioxidant activity and other beneficial biological activities.
Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous is its main microbial source due to a fast growth rate, growth in low-cost
substrates and easy large-scale production. In order to incr...
Astaxanthin is a carotenoid with a number of assets useful for the food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. Nowadays, it is mainly produced by chemical synthesis. However, the process leads to an enantiomeric mixture where the biologically assimilable forms (3R, 3′R or 3S, 3′S) are a minority. Microbial production of (3R, 3′R) astaxanthin by X...
Asparagaceae's large embryo sacs display a central cell nucleus polarized toward the chalaza, which means the sperm nucleus that fuses with it during double fertilization migrates an atypical long distance before karyogamy. Because of the size and inverted polarity of the central cell in Asparagaceae, we hypothesize that the second fertilization pr...
Astaxanthin is a carotenoid with a number of assets useful for the food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. Nowadays, it is mainly produced by chemical synthesis. However, the process leads to an enantiomeric mixture where the biologically assimilable forms (3R, 3′R or 3S, 3′S) are a minority. Microbial production of (3R, 3′R) astaxanthin by X...
Bacterial rhizospheric microbiomes of Musa acuminata cultivated in farms close to the west and east Mexican coasts and with different climate, soils, and crop management practices were characterized by 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. Results showed that rhizospheric microbiome composition changed along with seasonal weather but were mostly indif...
During plant sexual reproduction, F-actin takes part in the elongation of the pollen tube and the movement of sperm cells along with it. Moreover, F-actin is involved in the transport of sperm cells throughout the embryo sac when double fertilization occurs. Different techniques for analysis of F-actin in plant cells have been developed: from class...
Protein display approaches have been useful to endow the cell surface of yeasts with new catalytic activities so that they can act as enhanced whole-cell biocatalysts. Despite their biotechnological potential, protein display technologies remain poorly developed for filamentous fungi. The lignocellulolytic character of some of them coupled to the c...
Calcium is a secondary messenger that regulates and coordinates the cellular responses to environmental cues. Despite calcium being a key player during fertilization in plants, little is known about its role during the development of the endosperm. For this reason, the distribution, abundance, and dynamics of cytosolic calcium during the first stag...
The fungal cell wall building processes are the ultimate determinants of hyphal shape. In Neurospora crassa the main cell wall components, β-1,3-glucan and chitin, are synthesized by enzymes conveyed by specialized vesicles to the hyphal tip. These vesicles follow different secretory routes, which are delicately coordinated by cargo-specific Rab GT...
Rhizospheric microbiomes of Capsicum annuum L. cultivated either conventionally or amended with a synthetic microbial consortium or a root exudate inductor, were characterized by 16S/internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) rRNA amplicon metagenome sequencing. The most abundant taxa found, although differently represented in each treatment, were Gammap...
Studies involving the formation of gametes, double fertilization, and embryo and endosperm development allow the understanding of factors that control the processes of embryo and seed development. In this context, the female gametophyte plays a critical role in every stage of the reproductive process including the transport of sperm nuclei inside t...
Density Gradient Centrifugation for Enrichment and Identification of GFP-tagged
Chitosomal Microvesicles of Filamentous Fungi
Jorge Verdín1, 2#, Eddy Sánchez-León1#, Rosa Fajardo-Somera1, Carlos A. Leal Morales3,
Salomón Bartnicki-García1 and Meritxell Riquelme1*
1Department of Microbiology, Center for Scientific Research and Higher Education of
En...
We describe the subcellular location of chitin synthase 1 (CHS-1), one of seven chitin synthases in Neurospora crassa. Laser scanning confocal microscopy of growing hyphae showed CHS-1–green fluorescent protein (GFP) localized conspicuously
in regions of active wall synthesis, namely, the core of the Spitzenkörper (Spk), the apical cell surface, an...
GS-1 (ncu04189) is a protein required for the synthesis of beta-1,3-glucan in Neurospora crassa. As chitin, beta-1,3-glucan is a morphogenetically relevant component of the fungal cell wall. Previously, we showed that chitin synthases are delivered to the growing hyphal tip of N. crassa by secretory microvesicles that follow an unconventional route...
The subcellular location and traffic of two selected chitin synthases (CHS) from Neurospora crassa, CHS-3 and CHS-6, labeled with green fluorescent protein (GFP), were studied by high-resolution confocal laser scanning microscopy. While we found some differences in the overall distribution patterns and appearances of CHS-3-GFP and CHS-6-GFP, most f...
A purified preparation of the versatile peroxidase from Bjerkandera adusta was tested for industrial dye decoloration. This ligninolytic enzyme efficiently oxidizes Mn(II) to Mn(III) and also exhibits Mn(II)-independent activity in the oxidation of aromatic substrates. It was able to decolorize 27 of the 41 industrial dyes tested. The presence of m...
Peroxidases have many potential uses for biotechnological processes. In this review, peroxidase-catalyzed reactions potentially applicable to the petroleum industry are described. Although peroxidases are attractive catalysts for desulfurization, aromatic oxidation and asphaltene transformation, there are important issues that must be overcome befo...
Versatile peroxidase (VP) from Bjerkandera adusta, as other class II peroxidases, is inactivated by Ca(2+) depletion. In this work, the spectroscopic characterizations of Ca(2+)-depleted VP at pH 4.5 (optimum for activity) and pH 7.5 are presented. Previous works on other ligninolytic peroxidases, such as lignin peroxidase and manganese peroxidase,...
Versatile peroxidase (VP) from Bjerkandera adusta is a structural hybrid between lignin (LiP) and manganese (MnP) peroxidase. This hybrid combines the catalytic properties of the two above peroxidases, being able to oxidize typical LiP and MnP substrates. The catalytic mechanism is that of classical peroxidases, where the substrate oxidation is car...
Projects
Projects (3)
Hyaluronic acid is a functionally versatile polysaccharide that in vertebrates is involved in central biological processes such as cellular adhesion, migration, proliferation and differentiation. In fungi, only the HAS of the pathogenic yeast Cryptococcus neoformans has been characterized. The genomes of numerous filamentous fungi codify for putative HASs whose biological role remains unknown. We pursue to characterize the activity, molecular mechanics and biological role of filamentous fungi HASs.
We aim to integrate systems level phytobiome data from open field crops that allow us to develop solutions for a sustainable agriculture.
We aim to develop Neurospora crassa’ cell surface engineered strains with relevant biotechnological assets (enhanced ligninolytic power, metal-binding capacity, heterologous enzymatic activity, etc.) departing from a Neurospora’s cell surface phylogenomics, cell biology and biochemistry rational base.
