NEW AND HIGHLY COMPLEX ANTIBACTERIAL MACROLIDES FROM AMYCOLATOPSIS SP.

News
As a result of the IIMENA project, we now report the discovery of gargantulides B and C, which are among the largest and most complex bacterial polyketides discovered so far. These huge macrolactones were isolated from an Amycolatopsis sp. strain during an antibacterial screening campaign and their structures were fully elucidated based on 2D NMR spectroscopy. Subsequent identification and analysis of their extraordinarily large biosynthetic gene cluster, together with extensive NMR-based analyses, allowed us to completely assign and revise the absolute stereochemistry of the entire gargantulide family. The new macrolides showed potent antibacterial activity against Gram-positive bacteria including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE), and moderate but unusual activity against the clinically relevant Gram-negative pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii. If you want to know more about these interesting bioactive compounds…
Read More

Fernando Reyes had an oral presentation with title: Combined use of spectroscopic techniques and analysis of clusters of biosynthetic genes for the structural determination of complex natural products at the International Research Symposium in Natural Bioactive Products , Granada, Spain, November 24- 26, 2021

News
Fernando Reyes (MEDINA) had an oral presentation with title: Combined use of spectroscopic techniques and analysis of clusters of biosynthetic genes for the structural determination of complex natural products at the International Research Symposium in Natural Bioactive Products , Granada, Spain, November 24- 26, 2021
Read More

Daniel Oves-Costales and Daniel Carretero-Molina from MEDINA, presented posters at the Novo Nordisk Foundation Challenge Symposium in Copenhagen, Denmark

News
Daniel Oves-Costales, Tetiana Gren, Jesús Martín, Xinglin Jiang, Eva Baggesgaard Sterndorff, Francisco Javier Ortiz-López, Tue S. Jørgensen, Fernando Román-Hurtado, Olga Genilloud and Tilmann Weber. Identification, cloning and heterologous expresión of the gene cluster encoding Globomycin biosynthesis. Novo Nordisk Foundation Challenge Symposium, Copenhagen, 10th Nov 2021. Daniel Carretero-Molina, Francisco Javier Ortiz-López, Tetiana Gren, Daniel Oves-Costales, Jesús Martín, Fernando Román-Hurtado, Tue Sparholt Jørgensen, Mercedes de la Cruz, Caridad Díaz, Fernando Reyes, Francisca Vicente, Kai Blin, Tilmann Weber and Olga Genilloud. Discovery of gargantulides B and C, new 52-membered macrolactones from Amycolatopsis sp. Complete absolute stereochemistry of the gargantulide family. Novo Nordisk Foundation Challenge Symposium, Copenhagen, 10th Nov 2021.
Read More

New CRISPR-prime editing toolkit to engineer E. coli

News
Scientists from DTU Biosustain and KAIST funded by Novo Nordisk Foundation and part of the iimena project have developed a new CRISPR-prime editing toolkit to engineer E. coli. Have a look at the Nature Communications paper -> A versatile genetic engineering toolkit for E. coli based on CRISPR-prime editing. nature Communications. 2021. DOI:10.1038/s41467-021-25541-3
Read More

Fernando Reyes had an invited talk with title: Advances in the structural elucidation of complex natural products using a combination of spectroscopic approaches and biosynthetic gene cluster analysis Galway, Ireland, 30 August-1 September 2021

News
Fernando Reyes (MEDINA) had an invited talk with title: Advances in the structural elucidation of complex natural products using a combination of spectroscopic approaches and biosynthetic gene cluster analysis Galway, Ireland, 30 August-1 September 2021
Read More

NEW METABOLITES PRODUCED FROM A RARE ACTINOMYCETE

News
As part of the iimena project, we are investigating the genomes, as well as the metabolite profiles of many actinomycete strains. Despite the well-known Streptomyces, there are other underexplored genera in the phylum of Actinobacteria that are very promising on producing new, complex specialized metabolites. Through a combined genetic and metabolite approach, we investigated a rare Kutzneria strain that proved to produce two novel macrolides, epemicins A and B. The work, that is now published in ACS Chemical Biology, was a collaboration between the chemistry team of the iimena project, that isolated and structurally elucidated the new compounds, as well as the genome mining and engineering team, that managed to link epemicins to the gene cluster responsible for their biosynthesis. Link to the paper: Discovery and Characterization of Epemicins A…
Read More