Leonilde de Fátima Morais Moreira

(Assistant Professor) *

 

Status at IBB - Institute for Biotechnology and Bioengineering / Centre for Biological and Chemical Engineering (CEBQ):  

Teaching at the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering:

  • General Microbiology, Genetic Engineering, Microbial Biochemistry and Physiology

Education:

  • Ph.D in Biotechnology, IST, 1997

  • M.Sc. in Biotechnology (Biochemical Engineering), IST, 1993

  • B.Sc. in Biochemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Coimbra, 1990

Positions:

  • Assistant Professor, IST, 1999 - present

  • Post-doctoral researcher at Chair of Genetics, University of Bielefeld, Germany, 1997-1999

  • Teaching Assistant, Universidade Lusófona, Lisboa, 1996-1997

Research Activities:

  • Genetic and Physiology of Bacterial Exopolysaccharide Biosynthesis

Selected publications:

A. Papers in International Journals

Santos M.R., Cosme A.M., Becker J.D., Medeiros J.M.C., Mata M.F., Moreira L.M., Absence of functional TolC protein causes increased stress response gene expression in Sinorhizobium meliloti. BMC Microbiology. 10(1): 180

J.H. Leitão, S A Sousa, A.S. Ferreira, C.G. Ramos, I.N. Silva, L.M. Moreira. Pathogenicity, virulence factors, and strategies  to fight against Burkholderia cepacia complex pathogens and related  species. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology. DOI:  10.1007/s00253-010-2528-0

S.A. Sousa, C.G. Ramos, L.M. Moreira, J.H. Leitão, The hfq gene is required for stress resistance and full virulence of Burkholderia  cepacia to the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Microbiology  156:896-908, 2010.

A.S. Ferreira, J.H. Leitão, I.N. Silva, P.F. Pinheiro, S.A. Sousa, C.G. Ramos, L.M. Moreira, Distribution of cepacian biosynthesis genes among environmental  and clinical Burkholderia strains and role of cepacian  exopolysaccharide in resistance to stress conditions. Applied and  Environmental Microbiology 76:441-450, 2010.

M. Kundu, J. Thomas, A.M. Fialho, J.M. Kwan, L. Moreira, M. Mahfouz, T.K. Das Gupta, A.M. Chakrabarty, "The anticancer activity of the  N-terminal CARD-like domain of Arginine Deiminase (ADI) from Pseudomonas aeruginosa" Letters in Drug Design & Discovery 6 (in press), 2009

V.M.F. Gonçalves, A. Reis, M.R.M. Domingues, J.A. Lopes-da-Silva, A.M. Fialho, L.M. Moreira, I. Sá-Correia, M.A. Coimbra, Structural analysis of gellans produced by Sphingomonas elodea strains by electrospray tandem mass spectrometry, Carbohydrate Polymers,  77, 10-19, 2009

S.A. Sousa, L.M. Moreira, J.H. Leitão, Functional analysis of the  Burkholderia cenocepacia J2315 BceAJ protein with phosphomannose isomerase and GDP-D-mannose pyrophosphorylase activities, Appl Microbiol Biotechnol., 80, 1015-1022, 2008 (abstract)

A.M. Fialho, L.M. Moreira, A.T. Granja, A.O. Popescu, K. Hoffmann, I. Sá-Correia, (2008) Occurrence, production and applications of gellan: current state and perspectives. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol, 79, 889-900, 2008 (abstract)

A.M. Cosme, A. Becker, M.R. Santos, L.A. Sharypova, P.M. Santos, L.M. Moreira. "The outer membrane protein TolC from Sinorhizobium meliloti affects protein secretion, polysaccharide biosynthesis, antimicrobial resistance and symbiosis". Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions, 21, 947-57, 2008 (abstract)

J.E.A. Zlosnik, T. Hird, M. Fraenkel, L.M. Moreira, D.A. Henry, D.P. Speert. "Differential mucoid exopolysaccharide production by members of  the Burkholderia cepacia complex", Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 46, 1470–1473, 2008 (abstract) 


 S.A. Sousa, L.M. Moreira, J. Wopperer, L. Eberl, I. Sá-Correia, J.H. Leitão, "The Burkholderia cepacia bceA gene encodes a protein with phosphomannose isomerase and GDP-D-mannose pyrophosphorylase activities", Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, 353, 200-206, 2007 (abstract)

A.S. Ferreira, J.H. Leitão, S.A. Sousa, A.M. Cosme, I. Sá-Correia, L.M. Moreira "Functional Analysis of Burkholderia cepacia bceD and bceF Genes  Encoding a Phosphotyrosine Phosphatase and a Tyrosine Autokinase: Role in Exopolysaccharide Biosynthesis and Biofilm Formation", Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 73, 524-534, 2007 (abstract)

L.M. Moreira, K. Hoffmann, H. Albano, A. Becker, K. Niehaus and I. Sá-Correia, "The gellan gum biosynthetic  genes gelC and gel E encode two separate polypeptides homologous to the activator and the kinase domains of tyrosine autokinases", Journal of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology, 8, 43-57, 2004 (abstract)

M.V. Cunha, S.A. Sousa, J.H. Leitão, L.M. Moreira, P.A. Videira, I. Sá-Correia, "Studies on the involvement of the exopolysaccharide produced by cystic fibrosis-associated isolates of the Burkholderia cepacia complex in biofilm formation and in persistence of respiratory infections", Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 42, 3052-3058, 2004 (abstract)

L.M. Moreira,  P.A. Videira, S.A. Sousa, J.H. Leitão, M.V. Cunha, I. Sá-Correia, "Identification and physical organization  of the gene cluster involved in the biosynthesis of Burkholderia cepacia complex exopolysaccharide", Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, 312, 323-333, 2003 (abstract)

I. Sá-Correia, A. M. Fialho, P. Videira , L. M. Moreira, A. R. Marques, Albano H., "Gellan gum biosynthesis in Sphingomonas paucimobilis ATCC 31461: genes, enzymes and exopolysaccharide production  engineering", Journal of Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology, 29, 170-176, 2002

J.D. Becker, L.M. Moreira, D. Kapp, S.C. Frosch, A. Pühler, A.M. Perlick “The nodulin VfENOD18 is and ATP-binding protein in infected cells of Vicia faba L. nodules” Plant Molecular Biology 47, 749-59, 2001 (abstract)

L. M. Moreira, J. D. Becker, A. Pühler, and A. Becker. The Sinorhizobium meliloti ExpE1 protein secreted by a type I secretion system involving ExpD1 and ExpD2 is required for biosynthesis or secretion of the exopolysaccharide galactoglucan. Microbiology, 146, 2237-2248, 2000 (abstract)

J.A., Richau, D. Choquenet, A.M. Fialho, L.M. Moreira and I. Sá-Correia. The biosynthesis of the exopolysaccharide gellan results in the decrease of Sphingomonas paucimobilis tolerance to copper. Enzyme and Microbial Technology. 20, 510-515, 1997

L.M. Moreira and I. Sá-Correia. Megaplasmids in Thermus oshimai isolates from two widely separated geographical areas: restriction fragment profiling and DNA homology. Archives of Microbiology. 168: 473-479, 1997 (abstract)

L.M. Moreira, M.S. da Costa and I. Sá-Correia. Comparative genomic analysis of isolates belonging to the six species of the genus Thermus using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and ribotyping. Archives of Microbiology. 168, 92-101, 1997 (abstract)

L.M. Moreira, M.F. Nobre, I. Sá-Correia and M.S. da Costa. Genomic typing and fatty acid composition of Rhodothermus marinus. Systematic and Applied Microbiology. 19, 83-90, 1996 

L.M. Moreira, M.S. da Costa and I. Sá-Correia. Plasmid RFLP profiling and DNA homology in Thermus isolated from hot springs of different geographical areas. Archives of Microbiology. 164, 7-15, 1995.

L.M. Moreira, P. Agostinho, P.V. Morais and da M.S. Costa. Survival of allochthonous bacteria in still mineral water bottled in polyvynil chloride (PVC) and glass. Journal of Applied Bacteriology. 77, 334-339, 1994.

B. Book Chapters

J.D. Becker, L.M. Moreira , 2006, “Análise do transcritoma através da tecnologia de microarrays”. In: O Mundo do RNA: Novos Desafios e Perspectivas Futuras (Cecília M. Arraiano, A.M. Fialho, eds), Lidel Edições Técnicas, Lisboa, (in press)

I. Sá-Correia, L.M. Moreira and A.M. Fialho, "Engenharia Genética", In: Biotecnologia: Fundamentos e Aplicações (M. Mota e D. Lima, eds), Lidel Edições Técnicas, Lisboa, pp. 125-161, 2003

A.M. Marques, A.M. Fialho, P.A. Videira, L.M. Moreira, E. Silva, A.T. Granja, K. Hoffmann and I. Sá-Correia, "Biosynthesis and degradation of polysaccharides in Sphingomonas elodea ATCC 31461" In: Biological Resource Centres and the use of Microbes (N. Lima and D. Smith, eds.), Micoteca da Universidade do Minho, Braga, Portugal, pp. 33-51, 2003

L.M. Moreira, A. Pühler and A. Becker. Involvement of the secreted ExpE1 protein and its transport system in the biosynthesis of galactoglucan by Sinorhizobium meliloti. In Nitrogen Fixation: from Molecules to Crop Productivity (F.O. Pedrosa, M. Hungria, M.G. Yates and W.E. Newton, eds), pp. 248, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2000.

A. Becker, S. Rüberg, I. Quester, P.A. Bertram-Drogatz, H. Schlösser, L.M. Moreira, L. Sharypova, and A. Pühler. Genetics of succinoglycan and galactoglucan biosynthesis in Sinorhizobium meliloti. In "Biochemical Principles and Mechanisms of Biosynthesis and Biodegradation of Polymers" (A. Steinbüchel, ed.), pp. 113-121. Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, 1998.

C. Papers in National Journals

L.M. Moreira, J.H. Leitão and I. Sá-Correia. Perfis de DNA: o bilhete de identidade para bactérias? Aplicações na Indústria Biotecnológica-Alimentar, em Ecologia e em Epidemiologia. Boletim de Biotecnologia, 49, 16-27, 1994