CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

The assessment of the cross-talk between plants and their endophytes not only unveil amazing allelopathic mechanisms, but also inspires in the design of biotechnological strategies. These communities of microorganisms have co-evolved with their host plants developing incredible biochemical tools, as well as the ability to synthesize an immense diversity of bioactive metabolites. In this work, we will show how endophytes, isolated from South American endemic plants, are suitable to enlarge the tool-box of biocatalysts for the generation of valuable bioproducts. Their biocatalytic skills allow them to transform hydrocarbon terpenes and other natural products selectively. Their robustness lets them to be used to change the aroma notes of complex chemical volatile matrices, such as essential oils, that are naturally antimicrobial. Moreover, the bases of a biotechnological process to obtain an enantiomerically pure terpenic derivative was set up using agro-industrial wastes as substrates.