Department of Genetics and Microbiology

Head:

Akademicka 19, 20-033 Lublin
room 202A, tel. 81 537 59 72
mail: adam.choma@mail.umcs.pl

Staff members

prof. dr hab. Adam Choma
dr hab. Andrzej Mazur, prof. UMCS
dr hab. Marta Palusińska-Szysz, prof. UMCS
dr hab. Anna Turska-Szewczuk, prof. UMCS
dr hab. Iwona Komaniecka, prof. UMCS
dr hab. Małgorzata Marczak, prof. UMCS
dr hab. Jerzy Wielbo, prof. UMCS
dr hab. Sylwia Wdowiak-Wróbel, prof. UMCS
dr hab. Jolanta Kutkowska, prof. UMCS
dr hab. Magdalena Karaś
dr hab. Michał Kalita
dr Katarzyna Dworaczek
dr Dominika Kidaj
dr Monika Marek-Kozaczuk
dr Piotr Koper
dr Katarzyna Zamłyńska
dr Kamil Żebracki
dr Magdalena Wójcik

mgr Alicja Pilarczyk-Śpiewla
dr Dorota Samborska
mgr Anita Swatek
mgr Joanna Zalewska
Grzegorz Gronowski
mgr Hubert Pietras

Retired staff members

prof. dr hab. Wanda Małek
prof. dr hab. Anna Skorupska
prof. dr hab. Ryszard Russa
prof. dr hab. Teresa Urbanik-Sypniewska

Doctoral students

mgr Bożena Kowalczyk
mgr Maria Kurzylewska
mgr Wojciech Sokołowski
mgr Kamila Talarek
mgr Magdalena Laban
mgr Jakub Wysokiński
mgr Jacek Tarasiuk

History

In 1950, the Laboratory of Microbiology, which was part of the Chair of Plant Physiology, was transformed into the Chair of General Microbiology. Prof. Władysław Kunicki-Goldfinger was the organizer and the first Head of the Chair. In 1970, the Department was renamed the Department of General Microbiology. Over 50 years, the Chair gave rise to several other organisational units: the Department of Systematic Microbiology, the Laboratory of Virology, and the Laboratory of Bacterial Chemistry. In 2007, the Department of General Microbiology changed its name to the Department of Genetics and Microbiology. Due to the reorganisation of the Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology in October 2019, the Department of Genetics and Microbiology became part part of the Institute of Biological Sciences.

Heads:

prof. dr hab. Władysław Kunicki-Goldfinger (1950-1955);
prof. dr Jadwiga Marszewska-Ziemięcka (1956-1961);
prof. dr Zbigniew Lorkiewicz (1961-1993);
prof. dr hab. Ryszard Russa (1993-2005);
prof. dr hab. Anna Skorupska (2005-2014);
prof. dr hab. Adam Choma (since 2014).

Current research topics

Structural and functional genomics of R. leguminosarum: identification and analysis of the function of genes responsible for plasmid replication and segregation, biosynthesis and transport of surface polysaccharides, and symbiotic interactions with legumes;
Biodiversity and phylogenesis of nodule bacteria: molecular taxonomy of nodule bacteria;
Structural analysis of amphipathic components of cell walls and extracellular polymers of soil bacteria (with particular focus on rhizobia);
Structure of Legionella spp. and Aeromonas spp. lipids and lipopolysaccharides and their role in pathogenesis;
Biofertilizers - ecological formulations stimulating the growth and yielding of crop plants

Research projects

Polish-South African research projects (NCBiR) (2019–2022) „Skład i funkcja mikrobiomu brodawek korzeniowych Trifolium rubens i T. africanum" [Composition and function of the root nodule microbiome in Trifolium rubens and T. africanum]. Head of the project: dr Michał Kalita
2. OPUS16 (NCN) (2019–2022) „Badanie zróżnicowania genetycznego i funkcjonalnego mikrosymbiontów koniczyny łąkowej (Trifolium pratense) z dwóch stref klimatycznych: subpolarnej i umiarkowanej w celu identyfikacji szczepów o potencjalnym zastosowaniu w rolnictwie” [Study of the genetic and functional diversity of red clover (Trifolium pratense) microsymbionts from subpolar and moderate climatic zones to identify strains with potential agricultural use]. Head of the project: prof. dr hab. Monika Janczarek
OPUS16 (NCN) (2019–2022) „Znaczenie składu błony zewnętrznej Agrobacterium tumefaciens w procesie infekcji roślin uprawnych” [Importance of the composition of the outer membrane of Agrobacterium tumefaciens in the process of infection of crop plants].Head of the project: dr hab. Iwona Komaniecka, prof. UMCS
OPUS14 (NCN) (2018–2021) „Bakteryjne determinanty zwiększonej wirulencji szczepów Legionella pneumophila serotyp 1” [Bacterial determinants of enhanced virulence of Legionella pneumophila serotype 1 strains]. Head of the project: dr hab. Marta Palusińska-Szysz, prof. UMCS
OPUS14 (NCN) (2018–2021) „Kompleks enzymatyczny glikozylotransferaz Rhizobium leguminosarum jako model bakteryjnego szlaku biosyntezy egzopolisacharydu” [Rhizobium leguminosarum glycosyltransferase complex as a model of the bacterial pathway of exopolysaccharide biosynthesis].Head of the project: Dr hab. Małgorzata Marczak
Miniatura 2 (NCN) (2018-2019) „Wpływ aplikacji bradyrizobiowych czynników Nod na poziom syntezy alkaloidów chinolizydynowych w różnych odmianach łubinu” [Impact of application of bradyrhizobial Nod factors on the level of synthesis of quinolizidine alkaloids in different varieties of lupine]. Head of the project: Dr Dominika Kidaj
Miniatura 3 (NCN) (2019–2020) „Geny pssV i regA jako hipotetyczne elementy szlaku transmisji sygnałów w Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. trifolii” [PssV and regA genes as hypothetical elements of the signal transmission pathway in Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. trifolii]. Head of the project: dr Kamil Żebracki
Miniatura 3 (NCN) (2019-2020) „Genomika strukturalna (sekwencjonowanie genomowe i adnotacja sekwencji) bakterii Legionella lytica - niezbadanego czynnika etiologicznego legionellozy” [Structural genomics (genome sequencing and annotation) of Legionella lytica bacteria - an unexplored etiological factor of legionellosis]. Head of the project: dr Piotr Koper
Lider VIII edition (NCBiR) (2018-2020) „Opracowanie ekologicznego preparatu do stymulacji wzrostu i plonowania roślin uprawnych i leczniczych” [Design of an ecological formulation for stimulation of the growth and yielding of crop and medicinal plants]. Head of the project: dr hab. Anna Sroka-Bartnicka

Patents

Patent No. PL 230565 (Urząd Patentowy Rzeczpospolitej Polskiej) (2018)
„Preparat do nawożenia roślin bobowatych” [Preparation for fertilisation of legume plants]. Inventors: Dominika Kidaj, Jerzy Wielbo, Janusz Podleśny, Anna Podleśna
Patent No. P.225896 (Urząd Patentowy Rzeczpospolitej Polskiej); 2017
„Zestaw starterów do identyfikacji bakterii Legionella pneumophila oraz sposób zastosowania tych starterów w łańcuchowej reakcji polimerazy” [Aset of primers for identification of Legionella pneumophila and a method for application of the primers in the polymerase chain reaction]. Inventors: Monika Janczarek, Marta Palusińska-Szysz
Patent No. P.419590 (Urząd Patentowy Rzeczpospolitej Polskiej); 2017
„Zestaw starterów do identyfikacji bakterii Legionella micdadei oraz Legionella bozemanae” [A set of primers for identification of Legionella micdadei and Legionella bozemanae]. Inventors: Monika Janczarek, Marta Palusińska-Szysz
Patent No. P.419591 (Urząd Patentowy Rzeczpospolitej Polskiej); 2017
„Zestaw starterów do identyfikacji bakterii Legionella longbeachae oraz Legionella dumofii” [A set of primers for identification of Legionella longbeachae and Legionella dumofii]. Inventors: Monika Janczarek, Marta Palusińska-Szysz
Patent No. P.419592 (Urząd Patentowy Rzeczpospolitej Polskiej); 2017
„Zestaw starterów do identyfikacji bakteria Legionella drancourtii oraz Legionella gormanii” [A set of primers for identification of Legionella drancourtii and Legionella gormanii]. Inventors: Monika Janczarek, Marta Palusińska-Szysz
Patent No. P.411057 (Urząd Patentowy Rzeczpospolitej Polskiej); 2017
„Heteropolisacharyd jako metabolit Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. trifolii Rt24.2 do zastosowania w pielęgnacji włosów oraz preparat na bazie tego heteropolisacharydu” [Heteropolysaccharide as a Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. Rt24.2 trifolii metabolite for application in hair care and a formulation containing the heteropolysaccharide]. Inventors: Monika Janczarek, Kamila Rachwał

Research cooperation

The Department of Genetics and Microbiology cooperates with the following research centres in Poland: Institute of Agrophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences, University of Life Sciences (Department of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science), Medical University (Faculty of Pharmacy, Chair of Chemistry, Department of Biopharmacy), Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation in Puławy (Department of Forage Crop Production), the National Veterinary Institute in Puławy, Wroclaw University of Technology (Department of Medical Chemistry and Microbiology, Faculty of Chemistry), National Institute of Public Health in Warsaw, Provincial Sanitary and Epidemiological Station in Rzeszów (Laboratory in Tarnobrzeg), Nicolaus Copernicus University in Bydgoszcz (Faculty of Pharmacy, Chair of Organic Chemistry) Gdańsk University of Technology (Intercollegiate Laboratory of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance), University of Gdańsk (Department of Biomedical Chemistry), Warsaw University of Life Sciences (Faculty of Agriculture and Biology, Chair of Botany).

The Department of Genetic and Microbiology cooperates with the following foreign research institutions: Centre for Microbial Ecology and Genomics, Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute, Natural Science II, University of Pretoria (Republic of South Africa), Departamento de Microbiología, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla (Spain), Department of Arctic and Marine Biology, The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø (Norway), Structural Biochemistry and Allergobiochemistry, Research Center Borstel, Leibniz-Center for Medicine and Biosciences (Germany), Department of Environmental Science and Analytical Chemistry, Stockholm University (Sweden), Institute of Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, National Reference Laboratory for Legionella, Dresden (Germany), Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, Department of Infectious Diseases, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg (Germany), Leibniz-Institute for Farm Animal Biology (FBN), Dummerstorf (Germany).

Cooperation with business milieu

Project “MIC tests for determination of drug resistance” Project co-financed by the Operational Program European Regional Development Fund for Lublin Province in 2014-2020, Measure 1.2. Targeted research. Cooperation with BioMaxima S.A

Awards and distinctions

dr Michał Kalita, dr hab. Sylwia Wdowiak-Wróbel, dr Monika Marek-Kozaczuk
UMCS Rector's Team Award for acquisition of funds for the implementation of the project “Composition and function of the root nodule microbiome in Trifolium rubens and T. africanum” (2^nd NCBiR competition for joint Polish-South African research projects; project no. PL-RPA/02/TRIFOMIKRO/2019)
dr hab. Jerzy Wielbo, dr Monika Marek-Kozaczuk, dr Dominika Kidaj - UMCS Rector's Team Award for cooperation with the business milieu (2019)
dr hab. Małgorzata Marczak - UMCS Rector's Award for a high-score research paper: Marczak M*, Żebracki K, Koper P, Turska-Szewczuk A, Mazur A, Wydrych J, Wójcik M, Skorupska A. 2019. Mgl2 is a hypothetical methyltransferase involved in exopolysaccharide production, biofilm formation and motility in Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. trifolii. MPMI. doi: 10.1094/MPMI-01-19-0026-R (2019)
prof. dr hab. Monika Janczarek - UMCS Rector's Individual Award for acquisition of funds for the implementation of the project “Study of the genetic and functional diversity of red clover (Trifolium pratense) microsymbionts from subpolar and moderate climatic zones to identify strains with potential agricultural use” (OPUS 16, NCN) (2018)
dr hab. Iwona Komaniecka, prof. UMCS - 3^rddegree UMCS Rector's Individual Award for acquisition of funds for the implementation of the project “Importance of the composition of the outer membrane of Agrobacterium tumefaciens in the process of infection of crop plants” (OPUS 16, NCN) (2018)

Major publications

K. Dworaczek, D. Drzewiecka, A. Pękala-Safińska, A. Turska-Szewczuk (2019) Structural and Serological Studies of the O6-Related Antigen of Aeromonas veronii bv. sobria Strain K557 Isolated from Cyprinus carpio on a Polish Fish Farm, which Contains l-perosamine (4-amino-4,6-dideoxy-l-mannose), a Unique Sugar Characteristic for Aeromonas Serogroup O6. Mar. Drugs 2019, 17, 399.
M.A. Karaś, A. Turska-Szewczuk, M. Janczarek, A. Szuster-Ciesielska (2019) Glycoconjugates of Gram-negative bacteria and parasitic protozoa - are they similar in orchestrating the innate immune response? A. Innate Immun. 25, 1:73-96.
P. Lipa, J.-M. Vinardell, M. Janczarek (2019) Transcriptomic Studies Reveal that the Rhizobium leguminosarum Serine/Threonine Protein Phosphatase PssZ has a Role in the Synthesis of Cell-Surface Components, Nutrient Utilization, and Other Cellular Processes, Int. J. Mol. Sci., 20(12), 2905.
M. Marczak, K. Żebracki, P. Koper, A. Turska-Szewczuk, A. Mazur, J. Wydrych, M. Wójcik and A. Skorupska (2019) Mgl2 is a hypothetical methyltransferase involved in exopolysaccharide production, biofilm formation and motility of Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. trifolii. Mol Plant Microbe Interact. 32:899-911.
A. Pawlik, A. Mazur, J. Wielbo, P. Koper, K. Żebracki, A. Kubik-Komar, G. Janusz (2019) RNA sequencing reveals differential gene expression of Cerrena unicolor in response to variable lighting conditions (2019) Int. J. Mol. Sci. 20 pii: E290.
M. Wójcik, M. Kalita ,W. Małek (2019) Numerical analysis of phenotypic properties, genomic fingerprinting,and multilocus sequence analysis of Bradyrhizobium strains isolated from root nodules of Lembotropis nigricans of the tribe Genisteae Annals of Microbiology 69:1123–1134.
A. Choma, K. Nowak, I. Komaniecka, A. Waśko, M. Pleszczyńska, M. Siwulski, A. Wiater (2018) Chemical characterization of alkali-soluble polysaccharides isolated from a Boletus edulis (Bull.) fruiting body and their potential for heavy metal biosorption Food Chemistry, 266: 329-334.
M. Janczarek, J.-M., Vinardell, P. Lipa, M. Karaś (2018) Hanks-type serine/threonine protein kinases and phosphatases in bacteria: roles in signaling and adaptation to various environments. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 19(10), 2872.
A. Choma, I. Komaniecka, K. Żebracki (2017) Structure, biosynthesis and function of unusual lipids A from nodule-inducing and N₂-fixing bacteria. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Molecular and Cell Biology of Lipids 1862, 196-209.
J. Kutkowska, M. Marek‑Kozaczuk, J. Wielbo, M. Wójcik, T. Urbanik‑Sypniewska (2017) Electrophoretic profiles of lipopolysaccharides from Rhizobium strains nodulating Pisum sativum do not reflect phylogenetic relationships between these strains. Arch. Microbiol. 199:1011–1021.
M. Marczak, A. Mazur, P. Koper, K. Żebracki, A. Skorupska (2017) Synthesis of rhizobial exopolysaccharides and their importance for symbiosis with legume plants. Genes (Basel), 8, E360, doi: 10.3390/genes8120360.
M. Marek-Kozaczuk, S. Wdowiak-Wróbel, M. Kalita, M. Chernetskyy, K. Deryło, M. Tchórzewski, A. Skorupska (2017) Host-dependent symbiotic efficiency of Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. trifolii strains isolated from nodules of Trifolium rubens Antonie van Leeuwenhoek. 110: 1729–1744.
A. Sroka-Bartnicka, I. Karlsson, L. Ndreu, A. Quaranta, M. Pijnappel, G. Thorsen (2017) Particle-based N-linked glycan analysis of selected proteins from biological samples using nonglycosylated binders.^.132,125-132.
K. Zamlynska, I. Komaniecka, K. Zebracki, A. Mazur, A. Sroka-Bartnicka, A. Choma (2017) Studies on lipid A isolated from Phyllobacterium trifolii PETP02T lipopolysaccharide Antonie Leeuwenhoek; 110 (11):1413-1433.
M. Palusińska-Szysz, A. Zdybicka-Barabas, E. Reszczyńska, R. Luchowski, M. Kania, N. Gisch, F. Waldow, P. Mak, W. Danikiewicz, W.I. Gruszecki, M. Cytryńska (2016) The lipid composition of Legionella dumoffii membrane modulates the interaction with Galleria mellonella apolipophorin III. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1861(7):617-29.