Aalborg University
The research group at Aarhus University around Professor Henriette Giese moved from Aarhus University,Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, to
Aalborg University. Respectively Aalborg University became partner to the consortium.
The focus area of the group still evolves mainly around production of fungal secondary metabolites by Fusarium graminearum. One of the primary goals is the identification of secondary metabolites produced by the 19 different nonribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPSs), which have been identified in the F. graminearum genome. These synthetases are involved in formation of many important fungal metabolites including penicillin, ergot alkaloids, gliotoxin and cyclosporine. Currently mutants are created in which the different NRPS genes are either deleted or constitutively expressed. The mutants are generated using a USER Friendly cloning based technique enabling a fast and efficient targeted manipulation of the F. graminearum genome. The metabolite profiles of the mutants grown on various media are examined using HPLC with UV and MS detection in order to identify and isolate compounds differentially produced compared to wild type strains. The bioactivity of isolated compounds is tested in different cell lines available in the department. This approach will be applied to target genes in the Marine Fungi project.
PI contact: Dr. Jens Laurids Sorensen jls (@) bio.aau.dk