Metagenomic discovery of novel antimicrobial enzymes from Earth’s extremes

Bacteriophages, viruses that only infect bacteria, are Earth’s most abundant and diverse biological entities. Their genomes represent the largest untapped source of novel enzymes that function under extreme conditions. Among these, endolysins (phage-encoded peptidoglycan hydrolases) are of huge interest as eco-friendly antimicrobial agents. Endolysins can be utilised in the food, agricultural and sanitation industries as alternatives to harsh chemicals and detergents, owing to their antimicrobial activities over a range of conditions. New cold-adapted endolysins offer the potential of energy-saving low-temperature cleaning, whilst thermophilic variants have potential use in fermentation, food processing and as low-resistance alternatives to antibiotics. 

In this webinar I will discuss research from my PhD project, in which I combined AlphaFold and other predictive methods with biophysical and experimental techniques to investigate putative cold-adapted and thermophilic endolysins. Sequences of interest were obtained from metagenomic sources of Icelandic hot springs and Arctic seawater. I will highlight how these investigations revealed unexpected and novel structural features within the enzyme class, the evolutionary implications of this, and the potential for biotechnological applications and rational design.

Who is this course for?

This webinar is intended for researchers, graduate students, and professionals in microbiology, metagenomics, bioinformatics, structural biology, and biotechnology interested in the discovery and characterisation of novel antimicrobial enzymes and the use of AlphaFold to investigate their structure and function.

Outcomes

By the end of the webinar, you will be able to:

• Describe how metagenomic mining, sequence analysis, and structural prediction can be combined to identify candidate antimicrobial enzymes from extreme environments.
• Explain how AlphaFold predictions can be integrated with experimental approaches, including X-ray crystallography and biochemical characterisation, to investigate novel enzyme structures.
• Interpret how structural features can provide insights into the function and environmental adaptation of extremophilic endolysins.

This webinar, hosted on Zoom Webinar, is free to attend, but you need to register for a place beforehand, using the 'Register' button. Once registered, you will receive a confirmation email with a link to join the webinar.

The webinar will be recorded, and the recording will be made available on this page one day after the event. Please note that we do not issue certificates of attendance for our webinars. However, you will receive an email from our Zoom account confirming your participation a day after the event