COGNISEPLANCTOMYCES

Construction of a Genetic System for Planctomycetes

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'Due to the emerging resistance of bacterial pathogens against commonly used drugs, there is an urgent requirement for new antibiotic compounds and lead structures. The European Commission encouraged researchers to investigate this problem in a holistic manner. Recently bacteria with complex lifestyles and intensive “crosstalk” came into focus as potential source for new small molecule lead structures which might be further developed as therapeutic agents. Planctomycetes comprise ideal candidates, since these ubiquitous occurring organisms, which reproduce via budding, form cell aggregates, such as biofilms and “marine-snow”. Beside their complex lifestyle, they comprise sub cellular compartments resembling the eukaryotic nucleus which questions the pro-/eukaryotic dichometrie. Thus, they combine a complex lifestyle with interspecies communication, which is required for biofilm formation. However, in-depth analysis of Planctomycetes secondary metabolite production has been hampered by the lack of a genetic system. Consequently the major objective of this proposal is the construction of a genetic system for Planctomycetes. Such a system would allow e.g. the construction of deletion mutants and the identification of secondary metabolites while comparing these mutants against the wild type strain. In addition the genetic system will be highly beneficial for applications beyond the proposed project, since e.g. genetic modification of Planctomycetes which play an important role in waste water treatment will result in further biotechnological applications. In addition to the development of the genetic system, the capability of small molecule synthesis will be investigate via genome mining of the already sequenced Planctomycetes species. Further more surrogate genetic experiments will allow the cloning and heterologous expression of secondary-metabolite related genes and operons, which subsequently enables small molecule structure determination and characterization.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

In search of novel leads for antibiotics, European researchers investigated the production of secondary metabolites by the aquatic bacteria planctomycetes. Bioinformatics analyses and genetic tools enabled the manipulation and exploitation of these bacterial species as sources for novel antibiotic compounds.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

Antibiotics are bioactive molecules from fungi, bacteria and plants that have revolutionised medicine and enabled the eradication of bacterial infections. However, the emergence of antibiotic-resistant pathogens poses a serious threat to human health and necessitates the discovery/development of novel compounds.

Naturally occurring secondary metabolites have long been used as lead structures for the development of various drugs. The EU-funded 'Construction of a genetic system for Planctomycetes' (COGNISEPLANCTOMYCES) project has therefore decided to explore the newly discovered planctomycetes for potential drug compounds.

Planctomycetes are slow-growing bacteria dominate biofilms thus out-competing their faster-growing heterotrophic competitors, possibly through the production of antibiotics. Following the sequencing of the planctomycetal genomes, bioinformatics analysis pointed towards the production of unusual secondary metabolites.

However, for the investigation of antibiotic compound production by planctomycetes, scientists had to find a genetically modifiable model organism. To this end, genetic tools for the manipulation of Planctomyces limnophilus were developed. Further details about the project can be found http://www.jogler.de (online).

In addition to the development of the genetic system, scientists also investigated, via genome mining, the possibility of small molecule synthesis in these bacteria. Further genetic experimentation with secondary metabolite-related genes and operons is required to determine the structure and fully characterise these small molecules. Apart from antibiotic production, the genetic modification of planctomycetes could also find biotechnological applications that include wastewater treatment.