The Santorini Volcanic Complex as a Valuable Source of Enzymes for Bioenergy

Paraskevi N. Polymenakou, Paraskevi Nomikou, Haris Zafeiropoulos, Manolis Mandalakis, Thekla I. Anastasiou, Stephanos Kilias, Nikos C. Kyrpides, Georgios Kotoulas and Antoniοs Magoulas
Additional contact information
Paraskevi N. Polymenakou: Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture, Gournes Pediados, P.O. Box 2214, GR 71003 Heraklion, Greece
Paraskevi Nomikou: Faculty of Geology and Geoenvironment, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Panepistimioupoli Zografou, 15784 Athens, Greece
Haris Zafeiropoulos: Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture, Gournes Pediados, P.O. Box 2214, GR 71003 Heraklion, Greece
Manolis Mandalakis: Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture, Gournes Pediados, P.O. Box 2214, GR 71003 Heraklion, Greece
Thekla I. Anastasiou: Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture, Gournes Pediados, P.O. Box 2214, GR 71003 Heraklion, Greece
Stephanos Kilias: Faculty of Geology and Geoenvironment, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Panepistimioupoli Zografou, 15784 Athens, Greece
Nikos C. Kyrpides: Department of Energy, Joint Genome Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
Georgios Kotoulas: Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture, Gournes Pediados, P.O. Box 2214, GR 71003 Heraklion, Greece
Antoniοs Magoulas: Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Marine Biology, Biotechnology and Aquaculture, Gournes Pediados, P.O. Box 2214, GR 71003 Heraklion, Greece

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 5, 1-12

Abstract: Marine microbial communities are an untapped reservoir of genetic and metabolic diversity and a valuable source for the discovery of new natural products of biotechnological interest. The newly discovered hydrothermal vent field of Santorini volcanic complex located in the Aegean Sea is gaining increasing interest for potential biotechnological exploitation. The conditions in these environments, i.e., high temperatures, low pH values and high concentration of heavy metals, often resemble harsh industrial settings. Thus, these environments may serve as pools of enzymes of enhanced catalytic properties that may provide benefits to biotechnology. Here, we screened 11 metagenomic libraries previously constructed from microbial mat samples covering the seafloor and the polymetallic chimneys of Kolumbo volcano as well as mat samples from Santorini caldera, to mine, in silico, genes associated with bioenergy applications. We particularly focused on genes encoding biomass hydrolysis enzymes such as cellulases, hemicellulases and lignin-degrading enzymes. A total of 10,417 genes were found for three specific groups of enzymes—i.e., the endoglucanases, the three different beta-glucosidases BGL, bglX and bglB, and the alpha-galactosidases melA, and rafA. Overall, we concluded that the Santorini–Kolumbo volcanic ecosystems constitute a significant resource of novel genes with potential applications in bioenergy that deserve further investigation.

Keywords: bioenergy; metagenomics; extreme environments; microbial mats; submarine volcanoes; Santorini (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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