A new system for finding bioactive substances in fungi.
Abstract
Multiresistant microorgansims and tumors represent a continuous challenge to modern medicine. To encounter this situation, new pharmaceuticals have to be discovered and developed. A process that requires new, flexible strategies. Many pharmaceuticals originate from the kingdom of fungi. Bioinformatic analysis suggest that many more are still being hidden, even within exhaustively studied species. With this project, we want to activate these “silent” gene clusters with combination of the RNA-guided state-of-the-art tool CRISPR/CAS and an “artificial” activator, composed of viral and human transactivation domains. The system has already been established in other organisms and is therefore the tool of choice for our project. To our knowledge, there is no literature about the activation of “silent” gene clusters in filamentous fungi to this date. Should this project succeed, it would open completely new opportunities for the research of bioactive substances. Furthermor it would render the BOKU as an attractive partner for upcoming collaborations with pharmaceutical companies, who are interested in the discovery, development and production of new bioactive compounds, suitable for pharmaceutical industry.
keywords Fungi bioactive compounds CRISPR/Cas
Publikationen
Project staff
Andreas Schüller
Dipl.-Ing. Andreas Schüller B.Sc.
Tel: +43 1 47654-94492
Project Leader
01.10.2018 - 30.09.2019