MSc. Maria-Cecilia Chiriac, Ph.D.
Funkce: Vědecký pracovník - Oddělení mikrobiální ekologie vody
Telefon:
+420 387 77 5836
E-mail:
cecilia.chiriac@hbu.cas.cz
Web:
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Cecilia_Chiriac2
Místnost:
B 028
My research was focused on the ecology and diversity of prokaryotes in extreme environments (e.g., hot spring habitats, hypersaline lakes) and moved recently towards the eco-genomics of Candidate Phyla Radiation (Patescibacteria) in freshwaters. This bacterial group was mainly encountered in groundwater samples, aquifer, and estuary sediments, while having unusually small genomes and limited metabolic capabilities. These characteristics could imply a symbiotic or parasitic lifestyle, which was already proven in a limited number of culturable representatives (Saccharibacteria, Vampirococcus lugosii etc.). My current aim is to explore for the first time the diversity and biosynthetic pathways of Patescibacteria from freshwater lakes on a wide scale with the use of long-term deep metagenomic sequencing. These results will add to our currently limited knowledge about the CPR ecological importance, functional roles, and biogeography.
Current project:
One of the most important discoveries in microbiology in the last decade was Candidate Phyla Radiation (CPR) or Patescibacteriota, a recently described phylum of mostly episymbionts that include up to 26% of bacterial diversity. Although >10000 representative genomes are available, less than a dozen members were cultivated to date, belonging to just three out of 29 CPR classes. Because of their prevalence in the environment, cultivating Patescibacteriota is important, but notoriously difficult due to their complex nutrition needs and reliance on other microorganisms, and new strategies and techniques are needed to understand their ecophysiology. In our project, we propose to target both partners with metagenomics, metatranscriptomics and EpicPCR to assess the functional potential and host range of CPRs. Further, we aim to obtain episymbionts - hosts co-cultures by combining reverse metagenomics and high-throughput cultivation. These approaches represent the necessary steps that will advance the understanding of CPRs biology.
The project aims 1) to understand the functional potential of Patescibacteriota members in the environment; 2) to assess the host range of these epi- and endo-symbiotic bacteria; and 3) to obtain new enrichment cultures and co-cultures.
Education:
2014-2018: Ph.D. in Biology, Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
2012-2014: M.Sc. in Molecular Biotechnology, Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
2009-2012: B.Sc. in Biochemistry, Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Employment history:
• 2024-present: Research Scientist at Department of Aquatic Microbial Ecology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Biology Centre CAS
• September 2019 – 2024: Postdoctoral fellow at the Institute of Hydrobiology, Biology Centre CAS, Czech Republic.
• March – August 2019: Scientific Researcher, Institute of Biological Research (INCDSB), Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
• 2014-2019 Research Assistant, Institute of Biological Research (INCDSB), Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
Awards and grants:
• Postdoctoral grant 2021-2023 – “Programul 1 – Dezvoltarea sistemului național de cercetare-dezvoltare”, Executive Agency for Higher Education, Research, Development and Innovation Funding, Ministry of National Education, Romania. Grant No. PD 177/2020.
• Postdoctoral grant 2019-2021 – “Program for the Support of Perspective Human Resources”, Czech Academy of Sciences, Grant No. PPPLZ ve13
• Mobility grant 2019 - BC Grant Programme “Incorporation of the Biology Centre of the CAS into the European Research Area”.
• PhD Scholarship 2015-2016 - “Quality, excellence, transnational mobility in doctoral research”, Grant No. POSDRU/187/1.5/S/155383.
• Mobility grant 2019– “Proiecte de mobilitate pentru cercetători”, Executive Agency for Higher Education, Research, Development and Innovation Funding, Ministry of National Education, Romania. Grant No. PN-III-P1-1.1-MC-2019-0789
Online scientific profiles:
• Scopus Author ID: 56589710800
• ORCHID: 0000-0001-5130-5232
• ResearcherID: R-7093-2017.
• ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Cecilia_Chiriac2
Selected publications:
• Baricz, A., Chiriac, C.M., Andrei, A.S., Bulzu, P.A., Levei, E.A. et al. 2020. Spatio-temporal insights into microbiology of the freshwater-to-hypersaline, oxic-hypoxic-euxinic waters of Ursu Lake. Environmental Microbiology doi:10.1111/1462-2920.14909.
• Kust A., Řeháková K., Vrba J., Maicher V., Mareš J., Hrouzek P., Chiriac M., Benedová Z., Tesařová M., Saurav K. 2020. Insight into unprecedented diversity of cyanopeptides in eutrophic ponds using an MS/MS networking approach. Toxins 12: 561. doi: 10.3390/toxins12090561.
• Remizovschi, A., Carpa, R., Forray, F.L., Chiriac, C., et al. 2020. Mud vulcanoes and the presence of PAHs. Nature Scientific Reports doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-58282-2.
• Chiriac, C., Baricz, A., Szekeres, E., Rudi, K., Dragoș, N., Coman, C. 2018. Microbial composition and diversity patterns in deep hyperthermal aquifers from the Western Plain of Romania. Microbial Ecology 75(1):38-51. doi: 10.1007/s00248-017-1031-x.
• Chiriac, C.M, Szekeres, E., Rudi, K., Baricz, A.I., Hegedus, A., Dragos, N., Coman, C. 2017. Differences in temperature and water chemistry shape distinct diversity patterns in thermophilic microbial communities. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 83(21). pii: e01363-17. doi: 10.1128/AEM.01363-17.
• Szekeres, E., Chiriac, M.C., Baricz, A., Szőke-Nagy, T., Lung, I., Soran, M.L., Rudi, K., Dragoș, N., Coman, C. 2018. Investigating antibiotics, antibiotic resistance genes, and microbial contaminants in groundwater in relation to the proximity of urban areas. Environmental Pollution 236:734-744. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2018.01.107.
• Chiriac, C., Baricz, A., Coman, C. 2018. Draft genome sequence of Janthinobacterium sp. Strain ROICE36, a putative secondary metabolite-synthesizing bacterium isolated from Antarctic Snow. Microbiology Resource Announcements 6(15):e01553-17. doi: 10.1128/genomeA.01553-17.
• Coman, C., Chiriac, C.M., Robeson, M., Ionescu, C., Dragoș, N., Barbu-Tudoran, L., Andrei, Ș.A., Banciu, H.L., Sicora, C., Podar. M., 2015. Structure, mineralogy, and microbial diversity of geothermal spring microbialites associated with a deep oil drilling in Romania, Frontiers in Microbiology, 6:253. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2015.00253.
• Chiriac, C., Szekeres, E., Rudi, K. The metagenomic approach for microbial diversity investigation and antibiotic resistance evaluation in environmental samples. In (ed. Coman C) Methodological guide for monitoring antibiotics and antibiotic resistance in the environment. Accent Publishing Company, 2016, Cluj-Napoca, Romania. pp 325 – 359. ISBN 978-606-561-165-8.
• Dragos, N., Chiriac, C., Porav, S., Coman, C., Torok, L., Hegedus, A. 2018. Desmodesmus tropicus (Chlorophyta) in Danube Delta – reassessing the phylogeny of the series Maximi. European Journal of Phycology - accepted for publication.
• Baricz, A., Teban, A., Chiriac, C.M., Szekeres, E., Farkas, A., Nica, M., Dascalu, A., Oprisan, C., Lavin, P., Coman, C. 2018. Investigating the potential use of an Antarctic variant of Janthinobacterium lividum for tackling antimicrobial resistance in a One Health approach. Nature Scientific Reports 8:15272. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-33691-6.
• Szekeres, E., Baricz, A., Chiriac, M.C., Farkas, A., Opris, O., Soran, M.L., Andrei, A.S., Rudi, K., Balcazar, J.L., Dragos, N., Comanc, C. 2017. Abundance of antibiotics, antibiotic resistance genes and bacterial community composition în wastewater effluents from different Romanian hospitals. Environmental Pollution 225: 304-315. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2017.01.054.
• Andrei, A.-S., Baricz, A., Robeson, M.S., Pausan, M.R., Tamas, T., Chiriac, C., Szekeres, E., Barbu-Tudoran, L., Levei, E.A., Coman, C., Podar, M., Banciu, H.L. 2017. Hypersaline sapropels act as hotspots for microbial dark matter. Scientific Reports 7: 6150.
• Farkas, A., Craciunas, C., Chiriac, C., Szekeres, E., Coman, C., Butiuc-Keul, A. 2016. Exploring the role of coliform bacteria in class 1 integron carriage and biofilm formation during drinking water treatment. Microbial Ecology 72(4):773-782. doi: 10.1007/s00248-016-0758-0
