PhD defence by Yaotao Duan

Widespread biosynthesis of 16- and 17-carbon terpenoids in bacteria.

Terpenoids, the largest group of natural products, exhibit diverse bioactivities and applications in pharmaceuticals, agriculture, fragrances, and cosmetics. Traditionally, the chemical structures of terpenoid scaffolds are believed to adhere strictly to the five-carbon “isoprene rule.” However, by exploring bacterial genomes in-depth, we unveil a previously unrecognized chemical space of non-canonical 16- and 17-carbon terpenoids by mining novel BGCs and expressing them heterologously in yeast. Our study reveals the widespread occurrence of non-canonical 16- and 17-carbon terpenoids in bacteria, significantly broadening our understanding of terpenoid biosynthesis and highlighting the importance of gene mining and metabolic engineering in unearthing and harnessing the diverse potential of microbial terpenoids.

Supervisor

Professor Sotirios Kampranis

Assessment committee

Associate Professor Michael Krogh Jensen, DTU

Professor Vincent Courdavault, University of Tours

Associate Professor Fernando Geu-Flores, PLEN (Chair)