Nedka Shivarova, MD, Phd Associate Professor

DEPARTMENT OF MICROBIAL GENETICS

Nedka Shivarova, MD, PhD’ Associate Professor Head of Department Tel: (+359 2) 979 31 14 E-mail: [email protected]

Born 1971 MD in Human Medicine, Medical University, Sofia 1978 MD in Medical Microbiology, Medical University, Sofia Research Scientist, Institute of Microbiology, BAS 1987 PhD in Microbiology, Institute of Microbiology, BAS 1990 Associate Professor, Institute of Microbiology, BAS Head of the Department of Microbial Genetics, Institute of Microbiology, BAS 1998 Expert in environmental protection, Agency for Environmental Protection

STAFF Zlatka Alexieva, PhD, Associate Professor, [email protected]

Kantcho Lahtchev, PhD, Associate Professor, kantcnolahtchev @ yahoo .com

Svetla Danova, PhD, Associate Professor, [email protected]

Blagoy Atanasov, PhD, Research Scientist, [email protected] Nadejda Peneva, Research Scientist, [email protected] Maria Guerginova, PhD, Research Scientist, [email protected] Dimitrina Liutzkanova, PhD, Research Scientist, [email protected] Margarita Stoilova-Disheva, PhD, Research Scientist, [email protected] Penka Petrova, PhD, Research Scientist, [email protected] Galina Stoiantcheva, PhD, Research Scientist, galinadinkova @ abv .bg Ralitza Alexandrova, MS, Research Scientist, ralica _ nedkova @ dir .bg Dionora Guliamova, PhD, Research Assistant, dilnora @ hotmail .com Vasselka Peltekova, Research Assistant, vesela @ microbio . bas .bg

PHD STUDENT Jordan Manasiev, MS MAIN RESEARCH TOPICS  Genetic and enzymological studies on microbial degradation of xenobiotics by filamentous yeasts.  Mathematical modelling of the phenol biodegradation process.  Molecular taxonomic studies of lactic acid bacteria and bacilli.  Biological activity and potential of lactic acid bacteria as bioprotective starters for dairy products and their probiotic properties for human health.  Ecological studies of the mosquito pathogen Bacillus sphaericus.  Molecular genetic investigation on some genes, involved in spectinomycin biosynthesis in Streptomyces.  Genetic and enzymological studies on methilotrophic yeasts. MOST IMPORTANT ACHIEVEMENTS  The physiological and biochemical peculiarities of the original yeast strain Trichosporon cutaneum R57, which is highly active in degrading many aromatic and aliphatic compounds – toxic pollutants of the environment were investigated. The biochemical analysis of the first three enzymes of the catabolic pathway of degrading phenol in carbonless media enhanced the elucidating of their key role in the process. A system for homologous and heterologous protoplast fusion and protoplast transformation of Trichosporon cutaneum R57 strain was elaborated. A specific oligoneucleotide probe was applied for the identification of microbial strains with the potential of degrading toxic aromatic compounds, isolated from polluted soils and waters. Dot-blot hybridization analysis for the identification of catabolic genes, coding enzymes with phenol-hydroxilase activity was carried out.  Original approaches to the molecular-taxonomic characterization of lactic acid producing bacteria and the rapid monitoring of Lactobacilli from different ecological niches were developed.  The genetic, physiological and other factors, controlling the sexual process of the yeast Hansenula polymorpha were investigated. Two special types of homothalism were uncovered: a copulation potential in all possible combinations and sporulation of haploid strains. SELECTED PUBLICATIONS Lyutskanova D., Stoilova-Disheva M. Expression of the spcN gene from Streptomyces flavopersicus in Escherichia coli and determination of the gene function. J. Biotechnol&Biotechnol. Eq., 2003, 17 (№1), 100-104

D. Lyutskanova, M. Stoilova-Disheva, V. Peltekova. Increase in tylosin production by a commercial strain of Streptomyces fradiae. Appl. Biochem. Microbiol. (2005), V. 41 (2), 165–168 Lahtchev, K.L. Basic genetics of Hansenula polymorpha. In:G.Gellissen(ed) Hansenula polymorpha: biology and applications.Wiley-VCH (2002) , 8-20 Lahtchev, K.L., Semenova, V.D., Tolstorukov, I.I, van der Klei, I-J,& Veenhuis, M.. Isolation and properties of genetically defined strains of the methylotrophic yeast Hansenula polymorpha CBS4732 . Archives of Microbilogy (2002) vol.177, 150-158 Ozimek P, Van Dijk R, Lahtchev K, Gancedo C, Wang DY, Van Der Klei IJ, Veenhuis M. Pyruvate carboxylase is an essential protein in the assembly of yeast peroxisomal oligomeric alcohol oxidase. Molecular Biology of the Cell. (2003) ,14(2), 786-797 Ozimek, P., Lahtchev, K., Kiel, J. A.K.W., Veenhuis, M., van der Klei, I-J. Hansenula polymorpha Swi1p and Snf2p are essential for methanol utilization FEMS Yeast Research (2004) V 4 (7) 673- 82 D. Ivanova, T. Godjevargova, N. Dimova, Z. Alexieva., Utilization of toxic organic chemicals by Trichosporon cutaneum R57, Biotech.&Biotechnol. Eq., (2002) V 16, № 2, 146-149 Z. Aleksieva, D. Ivanova, T. Godjevargova, B. Atanasov, Degradation of some phenol derivatives by Trichosporon cutaneum R57, Proc. Biochem. (2002), 37(11), 1215 – 1219 Alexieva Z., Gerginova M., Shivarova N., Atanasov B., Zlateva P., Phenol degradation kinetics of Trichosporon cutaneum mutant strains, Compt. Rend. Acad. Sci, (2003),56 (4), 101-104 Godjevargova T., Ivanova D., Alexieva Z., Dimova N., Biodegradation of toxic organic components from industrial phenol production waste waters by free and immobilized Trichosporon cutaneum R57, Proc. Biochem., (2003), 38 (6), 915-920 Alexieva Z., Gerginova M., Zlateva P., Peneva N., Comparison of growth kinetics and phenol metabolizing enzymes of Trichosporon cutaneum R57 and mutants with modified degradation abilities, Enzyme and Microbial Technology, (2004), 34 (3-4), 242-247 P. Zlateva, M. Gerginova, J. Manasiev, B. Atanasov, N. Peneva, N. Dimova, Z. Alexieva., Kinetic parameters determination of the phenolic derivatives assimilation by Trichosporon cutaneum R57. Biotech. & Biotechnol. Eq., (2005), V. 19 (1), 93-97. Nelly Georgieva and Zlatka Alexieva, Selection and Characterization of L-Ethionine Resistant Mutants of Trichosporon cutaneum, Zeitschrite fuer Naturforschung C., 60c, (2005), 9/10, 657 – 660 Stoilova, I., Krastanov, A., Stanchev, V., Daniel, D., Gerginova, M., Alexieva, Z. Biodegradation of high amounts of phenol, catechol, 2,4-dichlorophenol and 2,6-dimethoxyphenol by Aspergillus awamori cells Enzyme and Microbial Technology,( 2006), 39 (5), 1036-1041 Godjevargova, T., Ivanova, D., Aleksieva, Z., Burdelova, G., Biodegradation of phenol by immobilized Trichosporon cutaneum R57 on modified polymer membranes Process Biochemistry, (2006), 41 (11), 2342-2346 Gerginova M., Manasiev J., Shivarova N., Alexieva Z., Influence of various phenolic compounds on phenol hydroxylase activity of a Trichosporon cutaneum strain. Zeitschrite fuer Naturforschung C., (2007), 62c Gerginova M., Dimova N., Ivanova D., Alexieva Z. Studies on biodegradation of aromatic pollutants by a Trichosporon cutaneum yeast strain. Bioremediation of soils contaminated with aromatic compounds, NATO Science Series: IV. Earth and Environmental Sciences, vol. 76, 2007 Galina D. Stoyancheva, Svetla T. Danova and Ivo Y. Boudakov Molecular identification of vaginal lactobacilli isolated from Bulgarian women, Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (2006), 90, 201-210. V.Miteva, I.Boudakov, G.Ivanova-Stoyancheva, V.Mitev, J.Mengaud Differentiation of Lactobacillus delbrueckii subspecies by ribotyping and amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analisis (ARDRA), J. Appl. Microbiol., (2001), 90 (6), 909-918. SD Todorov , Danova ST, Van Reenen CA, Meincken M, Dinkova G, Ivanova IV, Dicks LM Characterization of bacteriocin HV219, produced by Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis HV219 isolated from human vaginal secretions, Journal of Basic Microbiology, (2006), Vol. 46, No.3, 226-38. S.T. Danova, G. Stoyancheva, Y. Manasiev and V. Miteva Development and application of random DIG labelled probes based on total genomic Lactobacillus DNA, , World Journal of Microbiology & Biotechnology, (2005) V 21, № 6-7, 835 – 842. P. Petrova, S. Danova, G. Stoyancheva, V.Miteva Isolation and characterization of plasmids from Streptococcus thermophilus yogurt starters, Biotechnology & Biotechnological equipment (2003),V 1,105-113. Penka Petrova and Dilnora Gouliamova, Rapid screening of plasmid-encoded small hsp-genes in Streptococcus thermophilus, Current Microbiology, (2006) V. 53 ,422–427. Kaloyan Petrov, Penka Petrova, Venko Beschkov,Improved immobilization of Lactobacillus rhamnosus ATCC 7469 in polyacrylamide gel, preventing cells leakage during the process of lactic acid production, World Journal of Microbiology and biotechnology, (2006) online. Svetla Danova, Kaloyan Petrov, Plamen Pavlov, Penka Petrova, Isolation and characterization of Lactobacillus strains involved in koumiss fermentation, International Journal of Dairy Technology, (2005) V. 58, No 2, 100-105 P. Petrova, V. Miteva, J. A. Ruiz, G. del Solar , Sequencing and analysis of the Streptococcus thermophilus plasmid pt38, Plasmid, (2003) V 50, № 3, 176-189 P. Petrova, S. Danova, S. Boycheva, I. Boudakov, V. Miteva New shuttle vectors developed from Streptococcus thermophilus native plasmid, Comptes Rendus de l'Academie Bulgare des Sciences, (2003), V 56, No 2, 105-110 Todorov S.D., Botes M., Danova S.T. and Dicks L.M.T, Journal of Applied Microbiology, “Probiotic properties of Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis HV219, isolated from human vaginal secretions” ISSN 1364-5072 (2007). (in press) Angelova L., M. Dalgalarrondo, I. Minkov, S. Danova, N. Kirilov, J Serkedjieva, J.-M. Chobert, T. Haertle and I. Ivanova (2006). Characterisation of a novel protease inhibitor - PISC-2002 isolated from Streptomyces chromofuscus 34-1 with an antiviral activity Biochemica et Biophysica Acta General subjects AUG 1760 (8): 1210-1216 Yordanov Martin, Dimitrova Petya, Danova Svetla, Ivanovska Nina., Candida albicans double- stranded DNA can participate in the host defense against disseminated candidiasis. Microbes and Infection, 2005, 7, 179-186 Danova Svetla, Petrov Kaloyan, Pavlov Plamen, Petrova Penka. Isolation and characterization of Lactobacillus strains involved in koumiss fermentation, International Journal of Dairy Technology, vol. 58, No 2 May 2005, 100-.107 Yordanov M., Danova S., Ivanovska N. (2004) Inflammation induced by inoculation of the joint with Candida albicans ; Inflammation 28 (3): 127-132, June 2004 S. Danova, S. Diankova, B. Bakalov (2003) Antagonistic activity and antibiotic susceptibility of vaginal lactobacilli Biotechnology & Biotechnol. Equipment 2/2003/17, p.115 – 120. S. Tichkov, B. Gocheva, V. Chipeva, I. Ivanova, B. Bakalov, S. Danova, P. Moncheva (2003) Antibiotic susceptibility of Lactic acid bacteria isolated from fermented foods Biotechnology & Biotechnol. Equipment 1, 2/2003/17, p.98-108 Pantev A., Valcheva R., Danova S., Minkov I., Choubert J. M., Ivanova I., Haertlé T (2002) Effect of Enterococin A 2000 on biological and synthetic phospholipid Membranes, Int. J. of Food Microbiology 80 (2002) p. 145-152 Pantev. A.,Kabadjova P., Valcheva R., Danova S., Haertle T., Chobert J.-M., Dousset X, Ivanova I. (2002) Some aspects of concentration effects of nitrogen sources on the production of bacteriocin from Enterococcus faecium A2000- Folia Microbiologica, v.47, p. 659-662 P. Andreeva, A. Sterev, S. Trifonova-Danova (2002) Bacterial vaginosis and risk factors, Reproductive health vol.3, p.8-12 Serkedjieva, J., Danova, S., Ivanova, I. (2000) Antiinfluenza virus activity of a bacteriocin produced by Lactobacillus delbrueckii Applied Biochemistry and biotechnology, 2000, v. 88; 1-3; p.285- 298