Description of two cultivated and two uncultivated new Salinibacter species, one named following the rules of the bacteriological code: Salinibacter grassmerensis sp. nov.; and three named following the rules of the SeqCode: Salinibacter pepae sp. nov., Salinibacter abyssi sp. nov., and Salinibacter pampae sp. nov.

Current -omics methods allow the collection of a large amount of information that helps in describing the microbial diversity in nature. Here, and as a result of a culturomic approach that rendered the collection of thousands of isolates from 5 different hypersaline sites (in Spain, USA and New Zealand), we obtained 21 strains that represent two new Salinibacter species. For these species we propose the names Salinibacter pepae sp. nov. and Salinibacter grassmerensis sp. nov. (showing average nucleotide identity (ANI) values < 95.09% and 87.08% with Sal. ruber M31T, respectively). Metabolomics revealed species-specific discriminative profiles. Sal. ruber strains were distinguished by a higher percentage of polyunsaturated fatty acids and specific N-functionalized fatty acids; and Sal. altiplanensis was distinguished by an increased number of glycosylated molecules. Based on sequence characteristics and inferred phenotype of metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs), we describe two new members of the genus Salinibacter. These species dominated in different sites and always coexisted with Sal. ruber and Sal. pepae. Based on the MAGs from three Argentinian lakes in the Pampa region of Argentina and the MAG of the Romanian lake Fara Fund, we describe the species Salinibacter pampae sp. nov. and Salinibacter abyssi sp. nov. respectively (showing ANI values 90.94% and 91.48% with Sal. ruber M31T, respectively). Sal. grassmerensis sp. nov. name was formed according to the rules of the International Code for Nomenclature of Prokaryotes (ICNP), and Sal. pepae, Sal. pampae sp. nov. and Sal. abyssi sp. nov. are proposed following the rules of the newly published Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes Described from Sequence Data (SeqCode). This work constitutes an example on how classification under ICNP and SeqCode can coexist, and how the official naming a cultivated organism for which the deposit in public repositories is difficult finds an intermediate solution.

N-Methyl-ß-carboline alkaloids: structure-dependent photosensitizing properties and localization in subcellular domains.

N-Methyl-ß-carboline (ßC) alkaloids, including normelinonine F (1b) and melinonine F (2b), have been found in a vast range of living species playing different biological, biomedical and/or pharmacological roles. Despite this, molecular bases of the mechanisms through which these alkaloids would exert their effect still remain unknown. Fundamental aspects including the photosensitizing properties and intracellular internalization of a selected group of N-methyl-ßC alkaloids were investigated herein. Data reveal that methylation of the ßC main ring enhances its photosensitizing properties either by increasing its binding affinity with DNA as a biomolecular target and/or by increasing its oxidation potential, in a structure-dependent manner. As a general rule, N(9)-substituted ßCs showed the highest photosensitizing efficiency. With the exception of 2-methyl-harminium, all the N-methyl-ßCs investigated herein induce a similar DNA photodamage profile, dominated largely by oxidized purines. This fact represents a distinctive behavior when comparing with N-unsubstituted-ßCs. On the other hand, although all the investigated compounds might accumulate mainly into the mitochondria of HeLa cells, methylation provides a distinctive dynamic pattern for mitochondrial uptake. While rapid (passive) diffusion is most probably reponsible for the prompt uptake/release of neutral ßCs, an active transport appears to mediate the (reatively slow) uptake of the quaternary cationic ßCs. This might be a consequence of a distinctive subcellular localization (mitochondrial membrane and/or matrix) or interaction with intracellular components. Biomedical and biotechnological implications are also discussed herein.

DNA damage photo-induced by chloroharmine isomers: hydrolysis versus oxidation of nucleobases.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is an emerging clinical treatment currently being used against a wide range of both cancerous and noncancerous diseases. The search for new active photosensitizers as well as the development of novel selective delivery systems are the major challenges faced in the application of PDT. We investigated herein three chloroharmine derivatives (6-, 8- and 6,8-dichloroharmines) with quite promising intrinsic photochemical tunable properties and their ability to photoinduce DNA damage in order to elucidate the underlying photochemical mechanisms. Data revealed that the three compounds are quite efficient photosensitizers. The overall extent of photo-oxidative DNA damage induced by both 8-chloro-substituted ß-carbolines is higher than that induced by 6-chloro-harmine. The predominant type of lesion generated also depends on the position of the chlorine atom in the ß-carboline ring. Both 8-chloro-substituted ß-carbolines mostly oxidize purines via type I mechanism, whereas 6-chloro-harmine mainly behaves as a "clean" artificial photonuclease inducing single-strand breaks and site of base loss via proton transfer and concerted (HO--mediated) hydrolytic attack. The latter finding represents an exception to the general photosensitizing reactions and, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that this process is well documented. The controlled and selective production of different oxygen-independent lesions could be fine-tuned by simply changing the substituent groups in the ß-carboline ring. This could be a promising tool for the design and development of novel photo-therapeutic agents aimed to tackle hypoxic conditions shown in certain types of tumours.