Engineering of non-ribosomal peptide synthetases
Engineering of non-ribosomal peptide synthetases
Many clinically important antibiotics, including penicillin, vancomycin, daptomycin, and colistin, are biosynthesized by microbes through the action of enzymes known as non-ribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPS). Those enzymes have probably evolved because they can produce molecules that can access a much broader chemical space, than accessible through products made by the ribosome. Despite the importance of these enzymes in the biosynthesis of many important drugs, the molecular mechanisms underlying their function are not yet fully understood.
We believe that by engineering these enzymes, we can unlock an enormous variety of molecules and functionalities that have only been partially explored. To this end, we aim to develop design principles and novel tools for predictable engineering of NRPS enzymes.
