Laboratory for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

1. We have demonstrated the leading role of sulfate-reducing Desulfovibrio in the formation of hydrogen sulfide in cattle farming waste and developed methods of suppression of smell in major cattle-breeding complexes (Karnachuk et al., 2021, Scientific Reports, in press).
2. A strategy has been developed for the use of genome information to isolate a culture of minor components of a community of extremophile micro-organisms. (Karnachuk et al., 2020). Karnachuk, O.V., Lukina, A.P., Kadnikov, V.V., Sherbakova, V.A., Beletsky, A.V., Mardanov, A.V. and Ravin, N.V. (2020), Targeted isolation based on metagenome‐assembled genomes reveals a phylogenetically distinct group of thermophilic spirochetes from deep biosphere. Environ Microbiol. doi:10.1111/1462-2920.15218 (IF=4.933, Q1).
3. Our team have developed a strategy and isolated Candidatus Desulforudis audaxviator into a pure culture from underground biosphere (Karnachuk et al., 2019) viewed as a possible representative of life on exoplanets. Karnachuk O.V., Frank Y.A., Lukina A.P., Kadnikov V.V., Beletsky A.V., Mardanov A.V., Ravin N.V. Domestication of previously uncultivated Candidatus Desulforudis audaxviator from a deep aquifer in Siberia sheds light on its physiology and evolution. ISME J 13, 1947-1959 (2019) doi:10.1038/s41396-019-0402-3 (IF=9.493, Q1).
4. We have isolated metal-resistant micro-micellas participating in processes of biomineralisation in acid mine drainage (Glukhova et al., 2018). Glukhova L.B., Frank Y.A., Danilova E.V., Avakyan M.R., Banks D., Tuovinen O.H., Karnachuk O.V. Isolation, Characterization, and Metal Response of Novel, Acid-Tolerant Penicillium spp. from Extremely Metal-Rich Waters at a Mining Site in Transbaikal (Siberia, Russia). Microb Ecol. 2018 Nov;76(4):911-924. doi: 10.1007/s00248-018-1186-0. (IF=3.611, Q1).
5. New approaches have been developed for the use of continuous cultivation to isolate acidophilic micro-organisms from acid mine drainage (Antsiferov et al., 2017). Antsiferov DV, Fyodorova TS, Kovalyova AA, Lukina A, Frank YA, Avakyan MR, Banks D, Tuovinen OH, Karnachuk OV. Selection for novel, acid-tolerant Desulfovibrio spp. from a closed Transbaikal mine site in a temporal pH-gradient bioreactor. Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek. 017 Dec;110(12):1669-1679. doi: 10.1007/s10482-017-0917-4.
6. Our researcher have isolated new unique extremophile cultures from underground waters into a pure culture (Frank et al., 2016). Frank Y.A., Kadnikov V.V., Lukina A.P., Banks D., Beletsky A.V., Mardanov A.V., Sen’kina E.I., Avakyan M.R., Karnachuk O.V., Ravin N.V. Characterization and Genome Analysis of the First Facultatively Alkaliphilic Thermodesulfovibrio Isolated from the Deep Terrestrial Subsurface. Front Microbiol. 2016; 7: 2000. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2016.02000 (IF=4.259, Q1).

Collaborations:

Joint research with the Federal Research Centre «Bio-technologies» of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

A joint project funded by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research called «‎The diversity and the activity of sulfidogenic micro-organisms and the prevention of the formation of hydrogen sulfide in municipal and agricultural waste landfills»‎.