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Molecular Biology of Extremophiles: Recent Advances

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Biology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 October 2025 | Viewed by 650

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Sevilla, 41012 Sevilla, Spain
Interests: bioprospecting; archaea; microbial ecology; microbial diversity; environmental microbiology; microbial molecular biology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Extremophiles are microorganisms that thrive in conditions previously thought to be incompatible with life, for example, living under extreme temperatures, pH values, salinity, radiation, or pressure. For these organisms, this hostility represents an ideal environment, challenging our understanding of life's limits. Advances in genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics have revolutionized our ability to study extremophiles at the molecular level, shedding light on their adaptive strategies, evolutionary pathways, and potential applications in medicine, industry, and astrobiology.

Scope of the Special Issue:

This Special Issue will showcase cutting-edge research on microbial extremophiles (bacteria, Archaea, fungi, and microalgae) across multiple disciplines, fostering a comprehensive understanding of all aspects of extremophiles, including potential applications in science and industry.

We welcome original research articles, reviews, and perspectives contributions addressing the following topics:

  • Functional genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics of extremophiles;
  • Bioprospecting and biotechnological applications of novel biomolecules;
  • Evolutionary and phylogenetic insights into extremophilic microorganisms;
  • Molecular mechanisms behind adaptation to extreme environments;
  • Microbial interactions and extremophile ecology;
  • Synthetic biology and metabolic engineering of extremophiles.

We particularly encourage the submission of studies that integrate multi-omics approaches, biochemical analyses, and genetic engineering to uncover novel aspects of microbial life in extreme habitats and their untapped potential.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Please join us in expanding our understanding of microbial extremophiles.

Dr. Paulina Corral
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • extremophiles
  • multi-omics approaches
  • secondary metabolites
  • bioactive compounds
  • genome mining
  • phylogeny and evolution
  • bioprospecting

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

16 pages, 3915 KiB  
Article
Design, Co-Expression, and Evaluation for Assembly of the Structural Proteins from Thermophilic Bacteriophage ΦIN93
by Hong Liu, Milad Kheirvari and Ebenezer Tumban
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26(11), 5201; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26115201 - 28 May 2025
Viewed by 405
Abstract
Bacteriophage ΦIN93 has an icosahedral-like capsid that is believed to be composed of two putative capsid or coat proteins, namely open reading frame (ORF)13 and ORF14. In addition to the two capsid proteins, there are other proteins that may be associated with the [...] Read more.
Bacteriophage ΦIN93 has an icosahedral-like capsid that is believed to be composed of two putative capsid or coat proteins, namely open reading frame (ORF)13 and ORF14. In addition to the two capsid proteins, there are other proteins that may be associated with the structure of the virus. For example, five other proteins (ORF12, ORF16, ORF17, ORF19, and ORF20) in the virus have been identified as putative membrane-associated proteins. It is believed that membrane-associated proteins associate with coat proteins (serve as scaffolding proteins) to promote viral assembly. While the expression/co-expression of ORF13 and ORF14 have been done to assess if they can assemble to form virus-like particles (VLPs), the expression of any of the membrane-associated proteins and their contribution to assembly have never been attempted. In this study, we successfully co-expressed, for the first time, three membrane-associated proteins (ORF12, ORF16, ORF17) in addition to ORF13 and ORF14 in thermophilic bacteria (Thermus thermophilus, HB27:nar strain) and in mesophilic bacteria (BL21 Star). The expression levels of the proteins were higher in BL21 Star than in Thermus thermophilus, HB27:nar. Some of the expressed proteins (especially ORF17) migrated at sizes that were more than their deduced molecular weight (based on amino acid sequence). Co-expression of these proteins did not lead to the formation of structures that we believe are VLPs. Nevertheless, we believe co-expressing these proteins together from different plasmids is a good approach to assess which of them may be required to form VLPs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Biology of Extremophiles: Recent Advances)
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