On January 23, 2026, the twenty-ninth meeting of the interdisciplinary general academic seminar in the field of natural sciences "Current Issues of Physico-Chemical and Mathematical Biology" will be held at the O.V. Palladin Institute of Biochemistry of the NAS of Ukraine.
The report "Soil Streptomycetes – a Strategic Biofactory of Natural Metabolites for Modern Biotechnology" will be delivered by the research fellow of the Department of General and Soil Microbiology at the D.K. Zabolotny Institute of Microbiology and Virology of the NAS of Ukraine, Doctor of Philosophy Maria Loboda.
Doctor of Philosophy Maria Loboda
The event starts at 10:30 AM (approximate duration – 2 hours).
Address: Kyiv, 9 Leontovycha St., Assembly Hall of the O.V. Palladin Institute of Biochemistry of the NAS of Ukraine.
Link for remote participation in the seminar: https://meet.google.com/ete-wanq-rza
ATTENTION! In case of an air raid alert, the shelter in the building of the Presidium of the NAS of Ukraine (54 Volodymyrska St.) is operational.
Author's Abstracts of the Report
Streptomycetes are true biofactories of soil, sea, and even endophytic niches, capable of converting simple substrates into a rich arsenal of natural metabolites that have transformed the development of medicine, veterinary science, and agri-biotechnology. They not only produce antibiotics with a wide spectrum of action (from antibacterial to antitumor) but also synthesize phytohormones, vitamins, antioxidants, and siderophores that help them survive in competitive environments and interact with their habitat. Interestingly, it was thanks to streptomycetes that humanity obtained streptomycin – the first effective drug against tuberculosis, whose discovery revolutionized pharmacology. Their ability to form complex secondary metabolites makes streptomycetes not only key players in ecosystems but also an inexhaustible source of innovations for applications in various fields – from the laboratory to production.
Today, the general approach to searching for active producers and bioactive compounds relies on a series of sequential methods applied in the Department of General and Soil Microbiology at the D.K. Zabolotny Institute of Microbiology and Virology of the NAS of Ukraine. This involves sampling from extreme niches (industrially polluted areas or soils damaged by military actions, or saline soils), as it is in such places that bacteria with unique metabolism are found. Subsequent steps combine the selection of Streptomyces spp. based on bioactivity results, DNA isolation, sequencing (whole genome or 16S rRNA gene) followed by bioinformatics analysis, which includes molecular genetic identification and study of encoded biosynthetic gene clusters. After selecting the optimal composition of nutrient media and determining cultivation parameters, extracts are prepared for liquid chromatography – mass spectrometry and identification of compounds actually synthesized under laboratory conditions. At this stage, other chemical-analytical methods (TLC, HPLC, GC) and methods for analyzing molecular structure of substances (NMR and IR spectroscopy) are also applied.
The speaker will present research on already known Streptomyces strains registered in the Ukrainian Collection of Microorganisms and the Depository of Non-pathogenic Microorganisms at the D.K. Zabolotny Institute of Microbiology and Virology of the NAS of Ukraine, as well as on new strains isolated from extreme environments, namely from industrially polluted and war-damaged soils. The scientist will share results of studying their application in biotechnologies for accelerated soil restoration, anti-stress, adaptogenic, and phytoprotective effects on plants, molecular genetic and biochemical foundations of the priming effect of their secondary metabolites. Listeners will learn about a new biotechnological approach to soil remediation related to the construction of microbial phytosorbents and obtaining green energy, prospects for using streptomycetes’ secondary metabolites in green synthesis of nanoparticles, search for antiviral and antitumor agents, as well as other current problems that can be solved using the biosynthetic potential of streptomycetes.
Reference
The interdisciplinary general academic seminar in the field of natural sciences "Current Issues of Physico-Chemical and Mathematical Biology" was established at the O.V. Palladin Institute of Biochemistry of the NAS of Ukraine in accordance with the Resolution of the Presidium of the NAS of Ukraine No. 134 dated March 22, 2023.
The purpose of the seminar is the periodic hearing and discussion of scientific reports dedicated to the application of modern experimental and theoretical methods of chemistry, physics, and mathematics to solve urgent problems of contemporary biology, particularly in the fields of biochemistry, biophysics, molecular and cellular biology, bioenergetics, genomics, medical biology, pharmacology, nanobiotechnology, systems and synthetic biology.
The seminar is necessitated by the progress of such "cross-disciplinary" sciences and scientific directions as biophysical chemistry, physical biochemistry, chemical biophysics, biochemical physics, physico-chemical biology, physics of the living, mathematical biophysics, theoretical biology, bioinformatics, artificial intelligence in biology and medicine, etc.
Seminar meetings are held monthly in the Assembly Hall of the O.V. Palladin Institute of Biochemistry of the NAS of Ukraine (Kyiv, 9 Leontovycha St.). It is also possible to join the seminar online. The "doors" of the seminar are open not only to scientists of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and employees and students of Ukrainian higher education institutions but also to everyone interested.
Proposals for presentations (abstract length – 1–2 pages) please send to the email addresses of the seminar leader – Deputy Director for Scientific Work of the O.V. Palladin Institute of Biochemistry of the NAS of Ukraine, Head of the Muscle Biochemistry Department of this Institute, Academician Serhii Oleksiiovych Kosterin: kinet@biochem.kiev.ua; kosterin.serg@gmail.com.
Follow announcements of seminar meetings also on the website of the O.V. Palladin Institute of Biochemistry of the NAS of Ukraine.
Video recordings of previous meetings are available on the Institute’s YouTube channel.
Information provided by the O.V. Palladin Institute of Biochemistry of the NAS of Ukraine