Bruno Francesco Rodrigues de Oliveira is a marine microbiologist, particularly interested in sponge-microbe symbiosis and its multitude of biotechnological applications. Part of his PhD in Sciences (Microbiology) in the Institute of Microbiology Paulo de Góes (IMPG) at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) was developed in the School of Microbiology at the University College Cork (UCC), located at Cork, Republic of Ireland. Under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Alan D. W. Dobson, Bruno developed a project focused on the genome exploitation of cultivable bacteria isolated from a recently discovered sponge species in the Brazilian Southeast coast, Plakina cyanorosea. In particular, the sponge-inhabiting bacterial genomes were in-depthassessed based on two research fronts: (i) the detection and functional characterization of the molecular repertoire involved with sponge host-dependent lifestyle; (ii) and the extensive mining for novel industrial biocatalysts, notably marine polysaccharide (MP)-degrading enzymes useful in the biorefinery and biomedical sectors.
Now as a Postdoctoral Fellow, Bruno continues to carry out his research in the Molecular and Molecular Bacteriology Lab (IMPG/UFRJ), led by Profa. Dra. Marinella Silva Laport. Currently, his project is centred on the isolation and biochemical characterization of the key MP-degrading biocatalysts discovered in a model sponge-derived bacterium during his Sandwich PhD at UCC. In the meantime, it is also under progress the wide in silico genome mining for various candidate enzymes in bacteria associated with different marine hosts.
