Study of Gold Biomineralisation by Cupriavidus Metallidurans

Description

In the bacterial world, the resistance to heavy metals can be done in different ways (complexation, efflux, reduction, formation of a mineral, etc.). In the Proteobacterium Cupriavidus metallidurans CH34, as well as in other related bacteria, biomineralisation and in particular the production of nanoparticles play an important role in the resistance to metals. Recent studies indicate that C. metallidurans at pH 5.0 is capable of producing gold nanoparticles. The present research project aims to understand the mechanism of formation of these nanoparticles. For this, proteomic, transcriptomic, microscopic and physicochemical studies will be carried out on different Cupriavidus strains. Access to a Cupriavidus Knock-out mutant bank for the different Cop genes will help to better understand their role in the process of gold biomineralization. At the same time, this process will also be studied in the presence of a mix of copper / gold, gold / silver …