EUROFUNG
Analysis of natural products in fungi and in Actinomyces
Abstract
Filamentous fungi are known for their ability to produce metabolites important for human health (antibiotics) and enzymes used in the food and feed industry. They are promising hosts for the production of pharmaceutical proteins, antibodies and vaccines and of novel non-ribosomal peptide antibiotics. The project designs versatile filamentous fungal cell factories for different products by pinpointing and eliminating the major bottlenecks which limit their efficiency. A first objective is to improve the ability of fungi to make foreign proteins by better understanding the secretion process. The second objective is to increase fungal production rates and improve substrate utilization. Thirdly, new fungal antibiotics are developed to replace existing antibiotics for which bacterial resistance appears.