Topic Overview:

Microbial organisms are remarkable producers of structurally diverse specialized metabolites with a wide range of biological activities that are not only applicable to modern medicine and agriculture but can also inherently act as signaling molecules and virulence factors. The recent advances in genomics have revealed that many microorganisms have far greater potential to produce specialized metabolites than was previously thought, providing untapped opportunities for uncovering new therapeutic agents (such as antibiotics), novel enzyme catalysis, and virulence mechanisms of microbial pathogenesis in human/animal infections. This lecture will highlight several chemical and biological lessons that have emerged from research on microbial secondary metabolism through a genome-guided approach. Examples will include the discovery of novel enzymes through the interrogation of complex alkaloid biogenesis in cyanobacteria, new antibiotics of marine bacterial origin, and a novel signaling molecule produced by human pathogenic bacteria.