Microbial Natural Products

This group is located at the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS)


Even today efficient drugs against many diseases are missing but finding new active substances is very complex. Support comes out of the ground. Myxobacteria are soil-living microorganisms that produce many active agents. Here you learn more about the search for new compounds with biological activity.

Leader

  • Prof Dr Rolf Müller

    Rolf Müller

    Managing Director of the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS), Head of the Department Microbial Natural Products

    +49 681 98806-3000

    +49 681 98806-3009

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Our Research

Many pathogens are able to generate resistances against drugs like antibiotics leading to an uncontrolled spreading of pathogenic strains. However, an efficient treatment of numerous diseases is missing due to the lack of specific drugs. Therefore, a major task in pharmaceutical research is the identification and development of new agents. Interesting targets are natural products, so-called secondary metabolites, synthesized by microbes, plants and fungi. These agents can, for example, act as antibiotics, anti-cancer drugs, cholesterol-lowering agents, immunosuppressants, anti-parasitics and anti-diabetics.

One of the large-scale producers of natural products are myxobacteria, which are living in soil and secrete a number of compounds not only to kill their microbial competitors or enemies. The department “Microbial Natural Products” investigates the chemistry, production, regulation and mode-of-action of secreted metabolites from myxobacteria and, more recently, also from other natural producers such as actinomycetes, a different type of soil-living bacteria.

The scientists study the secondary metabolism in these microorganisms underpinning their efforts with whole-genome sequencing of model strains. Recently, they revealed the largest bacterial genome yet discovered in the myxobacterium Sorangium cellulosum. This bacterium has a huge capacity to produce natural products. The data allow the optimization of metabolite production in these microbes and the expression of complete pathways in heterologous hosts. Furthermore, it is possible to perform predictable alterations to the agents’ structures by genetic engineering. Experiments are underway to “mine” the sequenced genomes for novel compounds using state-of-the-art analytical techniques as well as to deepen the understanding of host microbiology.

The scientists also run a world-wide myxobacterial strain-discovery program, which results in the identification of new myxobacterial species, genera and families. Once a new strain has been successfully adapted to growth under laboratory conditions, we use state-of-the-art mass spectrometric techniques to screen the strain's metabolite profile with respect to the presence of known myxobacterial secondary metabolites. At the same time we perform a range of biological assays, using indicator organisms as well as cell-based screening approaches to discover novel compounds exhibiting a potentially interesting activity. Following optimization of the production of candidate compounds, cultivation of the producing strain is upscaled and the target compounds are purified using liquid chromatography methods. Thereafter, structure elucidation using a panel of analytical techniques including multidimensional NMR spectroscopy is carried out. In addition, further cell-based experiments are performed in order to investigate in detail the mode-of-action of a novel natural product.

Scientists in the interdisciplinary research group combine a broad spectrum of techniques including microbiological, molecular-biological, genetic, biochemical, analytical and bioengineering methods.

Further Information

A current overview of the team and further information about the research group can be found on the HIPS page.

Bachelor & Master
Are you interested in a bachelor or master thesis? We are looking forward to your request!

Video

  • KrankheitsErregend - Antibiotika

    Zufall und Unordnung im Labor führten dazu, dass der schottische Wissenschaftler Sir Alexander Fleming 1928 eine Wunderwaffe gegen bakterielle Infektionskrankheiten entdeckte. Das von einem Schimmelpilz hergestellte Penicillin hindert Bakterien am Wachsen und wurde erfolgreich als erstes Antibiotikum eingesetzt. Danach fanden Forscher weitere, von Mikroorganismen produzierte Stoffe, die für Bakterien giftig sind. Sie zählen zu den effektivsten Mitteln gegen bakterielle Infektionen. Durch häufigen Antibiotika-Einsatz sind heutzutage viele Mikroorganismen resistent gegen die Medikamente. Im Rahmen der zweiten Veranstaltung der Vortragsreihe „KrankheitsErregend – Meilensteine der Medizin“ ging es sowohl um die Geschichte des Wundermittels als auch um die heutige Forschung und die Probleme in der klinischen Praxis.

  • Paper of the month Juni 2015

    The prize "Paper of the Month" for June 2015 was awarded to Angela Kling from the department Mikrobielle Naturstoffe at HIPS in Saarbrücken. The prize was handed to Peer Lukat, the other first author of the paper, because Andrea Kling was not present at the day. Her publication "Targeting DnaN for tuberculosis therapy using novel griselimycins" was released in the journal Science. Find out more about their research in this videopodcast.

  • HIPS Infofilm (English)

    Resistance to antibiotics has become one of the major global challenges regarding infectious diseases. This is specifically the issue that is being tackled by the new Helmholtz-Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS).

  • How do researchers at the HZI and HIPS develop antibiotic candidates from natural products?

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