Laboratory of Microbiology, Bioenergetics and Biotechnology

The Microbiology, Bioenergetics and Biotechnology Laboratory was created in 2015 as a result of the remodeling of the former Membrane Bioenergetics and Biophysics and Microbiology and Biotechnology laboratories.

The field of laboratory research includes:

• microbial and plant biochemistry,

• microbial bioenergetics,

• plant and microbial biotechnology,

• waste processing and production of biofuel and biomass,

• biochemical mechanisms of effect of herbal solutions,

• Biochemical and biophysical mechanisms of global microbial regulators in fermentation and respiration.

The main scientific directions operating in the laboratory

• Study of the metabolism of formic acid and hydrogen in bacteria under fermentation conditions, in particular determination of bioenergetic parameters of different microbes under conditions of assimilation of one or more carbon mixtures: membrane potential and intracellular pH, determination of the activity of hydrogenases and formic acid dehydrogenases, clarification of the role of redox potential.

• Processing of various organic wastes and production of biomass and biofuel. In particular, processing of coffee, beer, wine and other organic waste and studying the production of bio-hydrogen, bio-ethanol and bio-butanol. 

• Elucidation of mechanisms of osmotic stress effect on membrane-bound enzymes in various yeasts and bacteria.

• Study of formic acid (Foc) and succinic acid (Dcu) tranSportsers under conditions of fermentation and changes in various external factors.

• Elucidation of the role of different regulators (Crp, Fnr, ArcA) in microbes during fermentation and respiration in assimilation of one or more carbon mixtures at different pH of the environment.

• Study of biochemical pathways in microbes assimilation of different carbon sources and their mixtures, environment under the influence of various external factors.

• Studying the biological activity of compounds of plant origin, studying antibacterial activity, its possible mechanisms, in particular, studying the membrane-associated properties of microorganisms under the influence of compounds of plant origin, studying the activity of enzymes of various microorganisms, studying the antibiotic-modulating activity of plant compounds using antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

• Investigation of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity and their possible mechanisms, in particular, using different chemical tests (DPPH, FRAP, TBARs, ABTS, Gries test) preliminary antioxidant testing, cellular antioxidant activity testing, activity and inflammation of the main antioxidant enzymes under the influence of plant compounds in different test systems cytokine studies;

• Studying the mechanisms of the effects of plant-derived compounds in different cancerous and normal cell lines, in particular, testing cytotoxicity and mitochondrial activity with the MTT test, studying changes in the activity of enzymes involved in the process of carcinogenesis.

Cooperation

The laboratory cooperates with the following institutions:

• Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Munich, Germany,

• Technical University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany,

• Technical University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany,

• Martin Luther Halle Wittenberg University, Halle, Germany,

• University of Cadiz, Cadiz, Spain,

• University of Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain,

• King's College London, London, UK,

• University of Bari, Bari, Italy,

• University of Burgundy Franche-Comté, Dijon, France,

• Gdansk University of Technology, Gdansk, Poland,

• French National Institute of Agriculture, Narbonne, France,

• California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, USA,

• Tokyo Institute of Agriculture, Tokyo, Japan,

• Agrotechnical University named after Seifulin, Astana, Kazakhstan,

• RA NAS Institute of Physiology named after L. A. Orbeli,

• NAS of RA "Armbiotechnology" GSC NOC,

• RA NAS Hr. Buniatyan Institute of Biochemistry,

• RA NAS G. S. Davtyan Institute of Hydroponics Problems,

• Institute of Molecular Biology of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia.

Staff

1. Karen Trchunyan

2. Anna Poldayan 

3. Naira Sahakyan 

4. Anahit Vasilyan 

5. Karine Grigoryan 

6. Heghine Gevorgyan

7. Hripsime Petrosyan 

8. Liana Vanyan 

9. Anush Babayan 

10. Anahit Shirvanyan 

11. Mary Iskandaryan 

12. Tamara Abaghyan 

13. Ani Harutyunyan 

14. Alvard Minasyan 

15. Lilit Grigoryan 

16. Gohar Azbekyan

Top 5 publications (Scopus, Web of Science 2018-2023):

1. Vanyan L, Kammel M, Sawers RG, Trchounian K. Evidence for bidirectional formic acid translocation in vivo via the Escherichia coli formate channel FocA. Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics 2024 752, 109877. (Q1)
2. Poladyan A, Trchounian K, Paloyan A, Minasyan E, Aghekyan H, Iskandaryan M, Khoyetsyan L, Aghayan S, Tsaturyan A, Antranikian G. Valorization of whey-based side streams for microbial biomass, molecular hydrogen, and hydrogenase production. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology 2023 107, 4683-4696. (Q1)
3. Ginovyan M., Babayan A., Shirvanyan A., Minasyan A., Qocharyan M., Kusznierewicz B., Koss-Mikołajczyk I., Avtandilyan N., Vejux A., Bartoszek A., Sahakyan N.  The Action Mechanisms, Anti-Cancer and Antibiotic-Modulation Potential of Vaccinium myrtillus L. Extract. Discovery Medicine. 2023, 35: 590-611. (Q1)
4. Mirzoyan S, Aghekyan H, Vanyan L, Vassilian A, Trchounian K. Coffee silverskin as a substrate for biobased production of biomass and hydrogen by Escherichia coli. International Journal of Energy Research. 2022 46:23110-23121. (Q1)
5. Trchounian A. Trchounian K. Fermentation revisited: how do microorganisms survive under energy-limited conditions?. Trends in biochemical sciences. 2019 44:391-400. (Q1)

Microbial Bioremediation Group of the Laboratory of Microbiology, Bioenergetics and Biotechnology

The scientific group of microbial bioremediation was created in 2023 within the framework of the program "Support for the initiation of scientific groups or the strengthening of laboratories (departments)" allocated by the Committee of Higher Education and Science of RA Ministry of ESCS.

The field of research of the group includes:

• classical microbiology,

• molecular microbiology,

• environmental microbiology,

• study of mechanisms of metal resistance in bacteria,

• bioinformatics research.

The main scientific directions operating in the group:

• Study of the prevalence of microbes in the mining areas of Armenia using classical microbiological and modern molecular biology methods.

• Microbial identification by classical microbiological methods, API diagnostic tests, as well as 16S RNA gene and whole genome sequencing.

• Bioinformatic analysis of sequences obtained from metagenomic studies using various tools available online.

• Studying the mechanisms of metal resistance in microbes using the IZ-PCR method.

• Investigating the capacity of extracellular and intracellular bioaccumulation of toxic metals by metal-resistant bacteria.

Cooperation

The laboratory cooperates with the following institutions:

• Laboratory of PhD, Prof. Nils-Kare Birkeland, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Bergen, Norway.

• RA NAS "Armbiotechnology" GSC NOC,

• Institute of Molecular Biology of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia.

Staff

1. Armine Margaryan - group leader

2. Hovik Panosyan 

3. Diana Ghevondian 

4. Sona Nikolyan 

5. Mane Tadevosyan

Top 5 publications (Scopus, Web of Science 2018-2023):

1. Burkhardt C, Baruth L, Meyer-Heydecke N, Klippel B, Margaryan A, Paloyan A, Panosyan HH, Antranikian G. Mining thermophiles for biotechnologically relevant enzymes: evaluating the potential of European and Caucasian hot springs. Extremophiles. 2024 28:5. (Q2)
2. Margaryan A. Diversity and application of heavy-metal resistant microbes. Microbes in Microbial Communities: logical and Applied Perspectives. 2022:153-174.
3. Panosyan H, Margaryan A, Birkeland NK. Anoxybacillus karvacharensis sp. nov., a novel thermophilic bacterium isolated from the Karvachar geothermal spring in Nagorno-Karabakh. International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology 2021 71. (Q1)
4. Saghatelyan A, Margaryan A, Panosyan H, Birkeland NK. Microbial diversity of terrestrial geothermal springs in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh: a review. Microorganisms. 2021 9:1473 (Q2)
5. Margaryan A, Panosyan H, Mamimin C, Trchounian A, Birkeland NK. Insights into the bacterial diversity of the acidic Akhtala mine tailing in Armenia using molecular approaches. Current Microbiology. 2019 76 462-469. (Q2)