“You know when the universe stops and you realize: 'this is it!'? It was so. When I looked at a fungus under a microscope for the first time, I fell in love.” This was the beginning of the love story between the chemistry student, who deep down wanted to be a dancer and was addicted to criminal investigation series, and the microorganisms. Today, a professor at the Chemistry Institute (IQ) at Unicamp, Taícia Fill has just won the For Women in Science award, promoted by L'Oréal Brasil, in partnership with UNESCO BRAZIL and the Brazilian Academy of Sciences, in the Chemistry Sciences category. Life. The project aims to identify substances produced by nature that, acting as fungicides, can be used to combat the main pests that affect orange production in Brazil.
Far from the aversion that it can arouse in some and the appetite that it can stimulate in others, for Taícia, fungi are very rich factories of natural products. “Compounds produced by fungi have changed the entire history of humanity. Penicillin saved thousands of lives in World War II. And if, nowadays, life expectancy is 80 years, microorganisms are certainly very responsible for this”, says the proud researcher. Taícia was so enchanted by what she saw in the microscope, that she never left it, nor the micro creatures she was introduced to that day.
Today, responsible for the Microbial Chemical Biology Laboratory, with 12 undergraduate to post-doctoral students, Taícia searches, in the dynamics between microorganisms, for a natural product that can be used to combat some of the main pests that affect Brazilian orange production. “The commercial pesticides currently used against these diseases have several problems. One of them is resistance. Some fungi are already resistant to commercial compounds. Furthermore, they are often toxic to the environment and human health,” he explains.
The project awarded by L'Oréal, which will have a two-year grant, will seek to identify natural products with fungicidal action, test their toxicity and verify the possibilities of making them marketable. “We are looking for safe and natural alternatives to combat pests in citrus. We look to nature, to see what it has developed over years of evolution. She has a strategy”, says Taícia.
As the researcher explains, in nature, microorganisms compete with each other for space and nutrients. Some of them develop mutualistic relationships with their hosts. Others end up taking care of them. These are known as pathogens. Among the most common pests generated by them on oranges are blue mold and green mold, caused by Penicillium italicum and Penicillium digitatum.
However, according to the research group's observation, oranges rarely have both. “These fungi have defense mechanisms against each other, developed throughout evolution. These are molecules used to ward off or inhibit the growth of others, so that they can guarantee their survival there. They are natural products that are true chemical weapons”, explains Taícia.
In the laboratory, the researcher and her team isolate the microorganisms found in a given host and simulate, in vitro, the competition that occurs in nature. Set up to compete, fungi activate their factories and produce a series of substances such as enzymes and other molecules. Using imaging technologies, researchers were able to identify these products and how they work. In the image below, we can see a red band at the interface between the fungi. This band was identified as an inhibition halo between one fungus and another. “One’s halo doesn’t let the other grow. They are in a chemical battle”, comments Taícia. The image, recorded using mass spectrometry, allowed researchers to identify the molecules present at the site and isolate them for study.
In this process, Professor Taícia's team has already discovered five new antifungal substances, which had never been identified regarding their antifungal activity. Its chemical structures were studied and its power to inhibit the growth of the fungus was proven in the laboratory. “We already know that they act by destroying the fungus’ cell wall”, points out Taícia.
According to the professor, the next phase of the project is to assess whether these compounds are toxic to nature and humans. The in vitro toxicity test against human cells will be carried out at the Unicamp Chemistry Institute. “We propose to study the toxicity of these compounds and really see if we can come up with a formulation that can become something commercial,” she says.
Despite the short-term practical application of this research, Taícia states that the Microbial Chemical Biology Laboratory carries out basic research. “Our focus is to discover these molecules and try to arrive at new chemical structures and new biological activities. Being able to link this to an application is excellent, but the group's focus is not on developing products for the market, but on discovering nature's mechanisms and studying these interactions”, he pondered.
Being a woman in science
“Gender equality in science is an issue that needs to be discussed and reinforced. The award works in this sense”, says Taícia. Aimed at young female scientists, the award seeks, according to the website, to promote gender balance in the Brazilian scenario. Despite not having experienced discrimination in the laboratory where she completed much of her Ufscar training, Taícia Fill states that this practice is still common. “Chemistry is still a very masculine environment. In the entire history of IQ there has only been one female director. At the Brazilian Chemical Society, among the 19 presidents, there is also only one woman. There is little representation of women in senior positions in science as a whole”, she highlights.
This lack of representation, according to her, affects the professional choice and career prospects of young scientists. “It’s important to be able to inspire girls who are starting their careers. Show that we are fighting, following this path and conquering space”, she says. Among the researchers who served as a model in her field, Taícia cited Maysa Furlan, Mônica Pupo, Maria Fátima das Graças Fernandes da Silva and Vanderlan Bolzani.
Previous winners
2011 - Ana Luiza Cardos Pereira (Physical Sciences, Unicamp)
2010 - Simone Appenzeller (Biomedical Sciences, Unicamp)
2008 - Luciana G. de Oliveira (Chemical Sciences, Unicamp)
