Sino-foreign joint research team decodes the "genetic treasure" of marine microorganisms
The marine microbial gene database with more than 43,100 marine microbial genomes and 2.458 billion gene sequences was jointly built by an international joint research team involving the Huada Institute of Life Sciences. More than 20,000 microorganisms in this database are newly discovered species, and about 10,000 microorganisms were discovered for the first time in the deep sea.
This was what the reporter learned from the joint press conference on the results of the "Thousand Marine Organisms Gene Sequencing Project" and the results of the construction and application of the global marine microbial gene bank held by the Huada Institute of Life Sciences on September 5. Relevant research results were published in the journal Nature on the 4th.
The picture shows part of the result published in the journal Nature. (Photo provided by respondents)
Information in the marine microbial gene database has been refreshed
The reporter learned from the Huada Institute of Life Sciences that this joint research team is composed of experts from our Huada Institute of Life Sciences and the United Kingdom, Denmark and other countries. The research team spent five years analyzing nearly 240TB of marine microbial metagenome data that has been publicly available to build a marine microbial gene database with more than 43,100 marine microbial genomes and 2.458 billion gene sequences.
According to reports, this database contains information on marine ecosystems from the Antarctic to the Arctic, from offshore to deep seas, from the surface ocean to the 10,000-meter super abyss. It is three times that of the reported marine genome database Tara Ocean and 60 times that of the protein sequence database. Among them, more than 20,000 microorganisms are newly discovered species, and nearly 10,000 microorganisms were discovered for the first time in unique habitats in the deep sea.
Fan Guangyi, president of the Huada Institute of Life Sciences, said that this research has greatly broadened the understanding of the diversity of marine microorganisms such as marine archaea and marine bacteria, and analyzed and mapped the biogeographic distribution model of global marine microbial communities. Understanding how microorganisms are distributed in different environments provides a new perspective and provides new opportunities for marine microbial evolution, environmental adaptability and ecology research.
Found three new highly active halophilic PET plastic degradation enzymes
Plastic pollution is a global problem. The research team found three highly active new halophilic PET plastic-degrading enzymes derived from the deep sea. The study found that this degrading enzyme degraded PET film to 83% within 3 days, which is 44 times the reported activity of IsPETase plastic-degrading enzyme.
"One gram of this degrading enzyme can degrade 55 500-ml plastic mineral water bottles." said Li Shengying, vice president of Qingdao Campus of Shandong University.
Experts believe that this will play a positive role in solving the problem of plastic pollution, especially in my country's realization of green, low-carbon and sustainable utilization of PET plastics and reducing the plastic manufacturing industry's dependence on oil and carbon emissions.
Decoding "genetic treasure" helps industrial breakthroughs in multiple fields
Fan Guangyi said that relevant research has revealed the diversity of marine microorganisms and its huge potential in the exploration of microbial functions such as new gene editing systems and antibacterial peptides, and has polished the originally unknown "relics of the sea" into a "pearl of the sea."
"Gene scissors" is known as a revolutionary technology in the field of life sciences. This gene-editing technology can break the chain of DNA, change it, and then reconnect it, just as people edit text while writing. Due to the operation of cutting the DNA chain, this technology is vividly called "genetic scissors".
"In this study, the research team identified 36 new gene editing systems and unearthed a new editing system with potential application value, which will bring more choices to my country in the use of gene editing tools." Fan Guangyi said.
Secondly, the research team identified 117 new antibacterial peptides, and through biosynthesis and experimental verification found that 10 of them had significant antibacterial activity and broad-spectrum antibacterial effect, providing new solutions to the problem of antibiotic resistance.
"Antibacterial peptides are polypeptide substances with antibacterial activity, and new antibiotics or other drugs are expected to be developed in the future." Li Shengying said.
Based on this achievement, Huada has joined forces with the Hong Kong Polytechnic University to establish the Hong Kong Polytechnic University-Huada Global Deep Sea Resources Genomics and Synthetic Biology Joint Research Center to implement further research and development and industrialization.
Murat Ellen, an international expert in marine microbial ecology research, believes that this project is a good demonstration of the infinite possibilities of marine microorganisms and "provides guidance for mining valuable resources related to biotechnology and biomedicine in massive genomic data." said Tom Delmon, an expert on marine microbial diversity.
"This research marks a new level in the field of marine metagenics and highlights the key role of marine microorganisms in improving human well-being and promoting environmental sustainability. These discoveries not only open up broad prospects for sustainable exploration and utilization of the ocean by scientists around the world, but also lay the foundation for future biotechnology and biomedical research." Yang Huanming, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said.
