Novel Natural Products in Algae: an Untapped Resource for New Chemistry, Biochemistry and Bioactivity

藻类是一种非常广泛的生物，在地球上到处都能找到。有证据表明，许多藻类物种通过不寻常的生物化学手段产生外来化合物，尽管这些化合物尚未得到很好的研究。例如，一些物种具有用于产生与抗生素和抗癌剂相关的复杂代谢物的酶。本项目旨在探索裸藻天然产物的生物合成能力。博士候选人将获得藻类细胞培养和代谢产物结构分析的高级培训，包括使用化学信息学，质谱和NMR光谱。将对新化合物的生物活性进行评估，并与同事合作进行进一步的作用模式研究。这些化合物的生物合成将通过基因组测序和代谢标记在藻类中进行探索

Algae are a very wide range of organisms that are found all over the planet. There is evidence that many algal species produce exotic compounds via unusual biochemical means, though these compounds have not yet been well studied. For example, some species have enzymes for the production of complex metabolites, related to antibiotics and anticancer agents. This project aims to explore the natural product biosynthetic capacity of euglenoid algae. The PhD candidate will gain advanced training in algal cell culturing and metabolite structural analysis, including using chemoinformatics, mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopy. New compounds will be evaluated for bioactivity and further mode of action studies will be undertaken in collaboration with colleagues. The biosynthesis of these compounds will be explored in the algae through genome sequencing and metabolic labelling