Our current research aims at getting a better understanding for the genetic mechanisms involved in the biosynthesis of nature products and their evolution. Here we focus on the phylum Actinobacteria. To understand the variation of secondary metabolite gene clusters within the context of the species’ evolution, genome mining and comparative genomics approaches are combined.
Working with the genus Amycolatopsis as a model organism and furthermore having the Tuebingen Actinomycetes strain collection at hand we focus on the discovery of novel antibiotic producing biosynthetic gene clusters. We have established a bioinformatic pipeline that allows strain classification and subsequent prioritization of biosynthetic gene clusters. Candidate gene clusters are analyzed and characterized in the lab in our ongoing research.