Rosa María Martínez-Espinosa is a full professor of biochemistry and molecular biology and PI of the research group “Applied biochemistry” at the University of Alicante (Spain) (Top 2% most cited researcher over the last 3 years according to Universidad de Stanford (Elsevier) ranking). Her research has resulted in more than 200 contributions to national and international conferences, 120 scientific publications in indexed journals, 70 book chapters and a patent. Her work focuses on the metabolism of extremophile microorganisms, purification and characterisation of enzymes with potential applications in industry and biotechnology, optimisation of protocols for the genetic manipulation of microorganisms, characterisation of gene regulation, production of carotenoids (pigments) and bioplastics, and design and development of bioremediation processes for contaminated water and soil using microorganisms. This research has been funded by the European Commission, the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, the Valencia Region Government and the University of Alicante.

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Keynote Details

Monday 29 June

Symposium 6: Combatting contaminants with Bacteria and Archaea

Haloarchaea are polyextremophilic microorganisms that require high salt concentrations to be alive and constitute the predominant microbial communities in ecosystems characterised by high sun radiation, desiccation, scarcity of nutrients, low oxygen concentration and slightly alkaline pHs (salt marshes, salty lagoons or inland/coastal flats from which brines and NaCl are obtained thanks to water evaporation).

These microorganisms have evolved molecular mechanisms aimed at fully adapting to these extreme environmental parameters. It is precisely these molecular and metabolic adaptations that make them excellent organisms with applications in the design and development of bioremediation processes to remove pollutants from soils and salty waters, as well as from brine produced at a large scale as waste in a significant number of industrial processes.

This work summarises some successful approaches in which different species of haloarchaea have been used to remove nitrogenous compounds, oxychlorides, aromatic compounds, and metals from water, soil and industrial wastewaters. Apart from their benefits as bioremediation agents, some species can produce nanoparticles if metals or metalloids are present in salty waters. Thanks to these metabolic capabilities, circular economy processes have been designed, in which the decontamination of brines rich in metals and metalloids has allowed, in parallel, the biological synthesis of silver, gold or selenium nanoparticles, to mention a few examples. These nanomaterials can then be used in other industrial processes, such as those related to electronics, apart from the use of nanoparticles as drug carriers.

Acknowledgement: European Commission, Spanish Government, Generalitat Valenciana (Spain) and University of Alicante (Spain) for funding.