BATS

Date/Time:

Nov 6, 2020 - 12:00 PM

Location:

Hosts:

Bevin Engelward

Speaker:

Title:

Discovery and Engineering of Acutumine-type Alkaloids In Menispermaceae Plants

Abstract:

Plant halogenated natural products are rare and harbor various interesting bioactivities, yet the biochemical basis for the involved halogenation chemistry is unknown. Here, we report the discovery of dechloroacutumine halogenase (DAH) from Menispermaceae plants known to produce the tetracyclic chloroalkaloid acutumine. Inspired by DAH, we also showcase the mechanism-based engineering of plant Fe(II)- and 2-oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenases and discuss computational approaches for the discovery of acutumine biosynthetic genes.

Speaker:

Title:

Screening for Antibacterial Combination Therapies

Abstract:

The antibiotic resistance crisis demands new antibacterial therapies. Despite recent efforts to discover antibiotics, no new antibiotic classes have been brought into clinical use in the last few decades. Antibacterial combination therapies are a promising alternative. Here, we present a high-throughput pipeline for antibacterial combination discovery against the gram-negative, drug-resistant ESKAPE pathogens. In my talk, I highlight our novel discovery platform and putative compound hits for sensitizing pathogens for antibacterial therapies.