Brief account of the history and evolution of the program

                   The Graduate Program in Agricultural Microbiology provides intellectual support for graduates to work in public, private teaching and/or research institutions, in the development of processes, products, quality control and technological development based on Applied Microbiology in Agroindustry; Environmental and Industrial Microbiology; Soil Microbiology; Food Microbiology; Physiology of Microorganisms; Microorganism Genetics especially in molecular and bioinformatics techniques. PPGMA opens selection processes every six months. New students can receive scholarships from major funding agencies such as CAPES, CNPq and FAPEMIG. As a grade 6 in the CAPES evaluation, PPGMA has CAPES annual financial support via PROEX. Research projects are maintained by funding approved in public or private company notices. 

                     PPGMA has three lines of research: 1 - Ecology, genetics and physiology of microorganisms Physiology and genetics of microorganisms from agricultural and natural environments; characterization and monitoring of microbial populations and communities; study of their functional relationships in diverse environments, such as soil, water, plants, food, animals and agroindustrial residues, including the application of biochemical, proteomic and molecular techniques, including metagenomics.  2 - Biotechnology of microorganisms applied to agriculture and the environment Processes and development of microbial technologies for ecosystem recovery, improvement of natural biological processes with increased animal and plant production and consolidation of agribusiness sustainability. Growth promoting microorganisms with biological control potential. Knowledge and development of spontaneous fermentation processes used in the preparation of various foods and beverages, for animal feed and development of diagnostic methods and products for the improvement of animal health, aiming to improve products and increase sustainable agro-industry.  3 - Food quality and microbiological safety Assessment of critical control points at all stages of food production and processing and characterization of terroir microbiota. Analysis of the dynamics of microbial populations present in food and risk assessment for the environment, human health and public health.

                   The Graduate Studies Program in Microbiology (Programa de Pós-Graduação em Microbiologia Agrícola - PPGMA) is administered by the Department of Biology (DBI) in the Natural Sciences Institute (Instituto de Ciências Naturais - ICN) of UFLA. The PPGMA began in 2001 with 6 permanent faculty members offering only a Master’s degree course and it had a 3 rating from CAPES. In the following three-year period (2004-2006), the doctoral studies course began, with rating 4. From the time of its approval, the rating of the PPGMA has increased with each evaluation; it was 5 in the 2007-2009 triennial and 6 in the 2010-2012 triennial, thus achieving the status of an international quality course. From that time on, the PPGMA has maintained a 6 rating.

                   Research in the PPGMA has been consolidated, with the participation of 12 permanent faculty members and 4 collaborating professors from different departments and teaching and research institutions in Brazil. The quality of intellectual production of the PPGMA has improved with each evaluation, and in the last four-year period, more than 70% of produced research is in international research journals of A1 and A2 classification. This scientific growth has accompanied and favored consolidation of the Department of Biology in graduate studies such that, currently, Agricultural Microbiology is an area that has notable activity in teaching, research, and extension of the University. This evolution of the program also proceeded through improvement in the structure of the Microbiology sector as a result of approval and execution of scientific projects. Creation of the PPGMA has contributed to improvements in the structure of the sector, which, in addition to improvements in the laboratories that already exist in research lines in fermentations and physiology, now has Yeasts, Probiotics and fermentation process technology and Ecology and bioinformatics laboratories. Even so, the program foresees new expansions and new challenges, with new equipment to allow students to work on the frontiers of knowledge.

                Interest in the course has grown each semester, confirming previous expectations of the demand that exists in the area, including candidates from other regions of Brazil and abroad. The international scope of the program has also grown over the years through an increase in welcoming students from abroad and sending students from the program for training abroad. Most on the faculty have trained abroad and all have research studies and papers published in partnership with foreign researchers. Another strong point of the program that has evolved over the years is development of new technologies, with registered patents.

                     Along with the concern in fulfilling all the criteria required by Capes, such as terms for completion of degrees and intellectual production, the Program has also assumed the commitment of giving students all the support necessary for comprehensive education in the area of Microbiology.

Area of concentration

Lines of research

1. Ecology, genetics, and physiology of microorganisms

2. Biotechnology of microorganisms applied to crop and livestock raising and to the environment

3. Microbiological quality and safety of foods

Research Projects

2020

• Biology and Growing of Edible and Medicinal Mushrooms

• Study of the microbial ecology of artisanal cheese: from acquisition to commercialization automated system of disinfecting paper currency

2019

• Diversity of basidiomycota in native forest areas of the south of Minas Gerais

• Zootechnical and reproductive performance of fish supplemented with microalgae

• Preparation and chemical, phytochemical, and pharmacological characterization of mutamba (Guazumaulmifolia) fruit for production of low-cost foods

• Screening, optimization, and metabolomic analysis of production of L-glutamine acid by Lactobacillus spp.

• Endophytic bacteria as inducers of resistance and tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses in Coffea arabica seedlings

2018

• Use of nanoemulsions of mixtures of essential oils in control of Listeria innocuain mechanically-separated meat

• Bioactivity of humic substances and growth promoting bacteria in banana plants

• Development and evaluation of nanoemulsions of essential oils applied on endospores of Clostridium Sporogenes

• Prebiotic and sweetener potential of agroindustrial byproducts

2017

• Characterization and antibacterial activity of nanoemulsions of essential oils on sporogenes in a food matrix

• Phylogeny, pathogenicity, and biology of etiologic agents of the fusarioses in cucurbits

• Evaluation of the biotechnological potential of a new glycolipid produced by Wickerhamomyces anomalus

• Bacterial enzyme activity directed to the composting process with incorporation of residues from a wastewater treatment plant

• Isolation, identification, and evaluation of the biotechnological potential of microorganisms from the SMS (spent mushroom substrate) of different species of edible and medicinal mushrooms

• Bioprospection of fungi from contaminated and non-contaminated soil of the south shetland islands, antarctica, on hydrocarbon degradation

• Evaluation of microbiological quality of recreational lakes

• Removal of trace elements from wastewater sludge using microbial biomass

• Evaluation of probiotic microparticles dried by Spray Drying for application on dairy products

• Proteomic analysis of the effect of nanoemulsions of major compounds on biofilms adapted from salmonella

• Adaptive strategies in cyanolichens: the formation of heterocysts in the cyanobacteria associated with different habitats

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