Banca de DEFESA: EDNALDO JOSE DA SILVA

BIOTECHNOLOGICAL POTENTIAL OF LECTINS EXTRACTED FROM PLANT OCCURRING IN CAATINGA PERNAMBUCANA

protein; plants; antimicrobials; arbovirusis; semi-arid.

Infectious diseases represent a global threat, either because they are among the 10 leading causes of death, or due to the ease with which microorganisms and viruses can spread on a global scale these days, or due to the emergence of the phenomenon of resistance to antimicrobials, antivirals (making treatment more difficult) and insecticides used to control the population of Aedes aegypti, the vector mosquito of Dengue, Zika, Chikungunya and Yellow Fever. Several studies have isolated lectins (proteins that bind specifically and reversibly to carbohydrates) from plant species and have shown the potential of these proteins both for the treatment of infectious diseases and for population control of A. aegypti. Therefore, the aim of this study was to isolate a new lectin from a plant occurring in the Caatinga biome of Pernambuco and evaluate its application as an antimicrobial and larvicide for biotechnological applications. The results of this work are presented in three manuscripts: 1. Patent prospection of lectins as antimicrobial and antiviral agents. This manuscript is submitted to the Journal of Environmental Analysis and Progress, Qualis A4, and is a prospective study of lectins as antimicrobial and antiviral agents that was carried out based on patents published between 01.01.2000 and 18.02.2022 on Espacenet and Patentscope. 2. Purification and characterization of a new lectin from pericarp of Pityrocarpa moniliformis and effects of its saline extract, protein-rich fraction and lectin on microbial strains and Aedes aegypti larvae. This article brings a new PitmoL lectin purified from the pericarp of Pityrocarpa moniliformis collected in the Vale do Catimbau ecological reserve (Buíque/PE). The lectin was characterized and showed larvicidal activity against A. aegypti larvae. 3. Purification and characterization of a new lectin from Terminalia tetraphylla seeds and effects of its saline extract, protein-rich fraction and lectin on microbial strains and Aedes aegypti larvae. The third manuscript presents a new lectin isolated from the seeds of Terminalia tetraphylla, also collected in the Vale do Catimbau ecological reserve (Buíque/PE). This lectin was characterized and the fractionation of its extract generated a protein-rich fraction with a larvicidal effect.