EXPLORING THE BIOSYNTHETIC PATHWAY OF INDUCAMIDES A-C, NOVEL NATURAL PRODUCTS FROM MARINE BACTERIA
Date of Award
2023
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelors
Department
Natural Sciences
First Advisor
Walstrom, Katherine
Area of Concentration
Biochemistry
Abstract
Compounds derived from nature, known as “natural products” (NPs), comprise a significant part of today’s pharmaceutical arsenal. Advances in genome sequencing have revealed many cryptic bacterial biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) that go unexpressed under typical lab conditions. Here, a mini-review explores the diverse ecological roles of bacterial NPs in their environment, and how their expression is regulated by interspecies microbial interactions. This work also describes exploration of the biosynthetic pathway towards three silent natural products, inducamides A-C, indole alkaloids with particularly rare structural features. Heterologous expression of inducamides A and B in two host species conclusively linked the production of the compounds to the inducamide BCG. Bioinformatics analysis revealed several key enzymes involved in inducamide production, and a second inducamide producing species was discovered with a similar gene cluster. This work lays the foundation for understanding and alteration of the biosynthesis of these compounds with great biological potential.
Recommended Citation
Paris, Lu, "EXPLORING THE BIOSYNTHETIC PATHWAY OF INDUCAMIDES A-C, NOVEL NATURAL PRODUCTS FROM MARINE BACTERIA" (2023). Theses & ETDs. 6411.
https://digitalcommons.ncf.edu/theses_etds/6411