AUTHOR=Tanner Kristie , Martorell Patricia , Genovés Salvador , Ramón Daniel , Zacarías Lorenzo , Rodrigo María Jesús , Peretó Juli , Porcar Manuel 

TITLE=Bioprospecting the Solar Panel Microbiome: High-Throughput Screening for Antioxidant Bacteria in a Caenorhabditis elegans Model

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=10

YEAR=2019

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2019.00986

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2019.00986

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>Microbial communities that are exposed to sunlight typically share a series of adaptations to deal with the radiation they are exposed to, including efficient DNA repair systems, pigment production and protection against oxidative stress, which makes these environments good candidates for the search of novel antioxidant microorganisms. In this research project, we isolated potential antioxidant pigmented bacteria from a dry and highly-irradiated extreme environment: solar panels. High-throughput <italic>in vivo</italic> assays using <italic>Caenorhabditis elegans</italic> as an experimental model demonstrated the high antioxidant and ultraviolet-protection properties of these bacterial isolates that proved to be rich in carotenoids. Our results suggest that solar panels harbor a microbial community that includes strains with potential applications as antioxidants.</p>