Work in our laboratory revolves around the application of
principles, concepts and techniques of organic chemistry and of
molecular genetics to the understanding of the biosynthesis of natural
products, to the exploration of nature's chemical capabilities, and to
their exploitation to generate new molecules with properties useful to
man.
We are mostly interested in molecules which are produced by
microorganisms, particularly by soil bacteria in the family
Actinomycetes, but also some, such as the anticancer drug taxol, which
are synthesized by higher plants. Three approaches are used to obtain
biosynthetic information:
- Classical "feeding" experiments with isotopically labeled precursors
and product analysis by NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry
- Isolation and purification of enzymes catalyzing individual reaction
steps and analysis of their mode of action
- Cloning, sequencing and analysis of gene clusters encoding the
formation of an antibiotic, followed by expression of individual genes
and characterization of the resulting enzymes