Environmental Microbiology Laboratory
Home – Research – Offices and Laboratories – Laboratories Macchiareddu – Environmental Microbiology Laboratory
Specifications: Laboratory specialized in the analysis of environmental microbial communities and in the development of microbial biotechnologies for environmental and industrial applications.
Equipment available: 2 Laminar flow biohazard hoods, 1 Incubator, 1 Cooling incubator, 1 CO2 Incubator, 3 Orbital shaker incubators, 1 Refrigerator, 2 Freezers (-20 °C), 1 Chemical hood, 1 Real Time PCR instrument, 2 PCR thermocyclers, 1 Tensiometer, 1 Refrigerated centrifuge, 1 Centrifuge, 1 Microcentrifuge, 1 FastPrep cell disrupter, 1 Spectrophotometer, 1 UV Transilluminator, 1 Photodocumentation system, 3 Microscopes, 1 Fluorescence microscope equipped with image analysis software, 3-liter fermentor, 1 Lyophiliser, Gel electrophoresis apparatus for nucleic acids and proteins, 1 Thermostatic bath, 1 Thermoblock, 1 Hot-air oven, 2 Vibrax shakers.
 |
Year of acquisition: 2004.
Responsible: Dott.ssa Elena Tamburini.
Ownership: Department of Biomedical Sciences and Technologies Section of General Microbiology and Virology & Microbial Biotechnologies, University of Cagliari
Main applications:
♦ New strategies for the growth of “microorganisms yet cultivable” under lab conditions.
♦ Typing and identification of microbial strains through molecular techniques (ex. analysis of gene 16S rRNA, AFLP).
♦ Study and monitoring of microbial communities and molecular techniques (ex. T-RFLP) and of standard microbiology to determine diversity and activities of microorganisms in natural environments.
♦ Study and monitoring of microorganisms capable to degrade/transform pollutants during bioremediation processes
♦ High-throughput techniques for isolation and screening of microorganisms which produce surfactants and emulsifiers and evaluation of production efficiency and efficacy.
♦ Optimization of culture conditions for the production of microbial bioproducts bioprodotti through experimental techniques.
♦ Cloning, expression in E. coli and purification of enzyme of industrial interest (ex. pectinasi).
♦ Analysis in silico of nucleotide and amino acid sequences for phylogenetic and evolutionary studies.