FORTSCHRITTSBERICHT JAHR 2006 - Helmholtz-Zentrum für ...

Entwicklungen auf Zentrumsebene
JRG Structure and Function of Antibiotics (SFA)
Head: Dr. Dirk Menche
Research in this group is centred around various aspects of natural product chemistry and antiinfective
research, ranging from natural product isolation, the development of new synthetic
methods to novel strategies in natural product synthesis, and analogue design. A particular
emphasis is placed on novel antimalarial structures from African medicinal plants. Another
major activity is directed towards novel methodologies to synthesize chiral amines, key structural
elements of a multitude of antiinfectives, in only one chemical (stereoselective) transformation
from readily available building blocks.
RG Microbial Drugs (MWI)
Head: Prof. Dr. Rolf Müller
The research group aims to mine genomic information and biodiversity for the production of
novel and altered natural products with various biological activities. Using molecular biological
tools under development for gliding bacteria and having various genome data plus a most
important myxobacterial strain collection at hand, the enormous genomic potential to make
novel metabolites will be exploited. Biosynthetic as well as fermentation studies of known
compounds are performed to provide substances for further development and increase/alter
production in natural hosts. Enzymes involved in the respective biosynthesis are used in
chemoenzymatic approaches to enable natural product syntheses. Uncommon habitats are
screened for the presence of novel classes of gliding bacteria to provide new sources for lead
structures for the screening process. In parallel, tools are developed to heterologously produce
valuable compounds in more ameneable foreign host organisms.
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