Michella Dawra

Research activities

    I am a postdoctoral researcher on the ANR project led by Dr. Benjamin Marie, titled “Genetic and Chemical Diversity of Microcystis Cyanobacteria and Associated (Eco)toxicological Risks.” This project is carried out within the CCE, CPNFB and BIM teams, under the supervision of Dr. Benjamin Marie (CCE), Dr. Séverine Zirah, and Dr. Kevin Calabro, at the Chemistry Laboratory of the National Museum of Natural History - UMR CNRS 7245 MCAM.

    English Version : I am interested in extracting secondary metabolites from cyanobacterial strains, primarily Microcystis, and elucidating their structures using various spectroscopic techniques (UPLC-MS and 1D, 2D NMR). I also evaluate their toxicological risks on Medaka embryos (a type of fish).

    The core of our research focuses on the chemical and genetic diversity of Microcystis. We aim to identify secondary metabolites and biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) associated with different genotypes collected worldwide. Our initial genomic analyses reveal that each Microcystis genotype contains between 3 and 16 BGCs responsible for synthesizing various bioactive metabolites such as microcystins and other peptides. However, more than half of these BGCs have not yet been associated with identified products. Although microcystins are recognized for their toxicity in certain strains, we frequently observe higher toxicity in strains with high chemical diversity, even among those that do not produce microcystins. This suggests the presence of new cyanobacterial toxins that still need to be identified and evaluated for (eco)toxicological risks.