A bimodular PKS platform that expands the biological design space.

Traditionally engineered to produce novel bioactive molecules, Type I modular polyketide synthases (PKSs) could be engineered as a new biosynthetic platform for the production of de novo fuels, commodity chemicals, and specialty chemicals. Previously, our investigations manipulated the first module of the lipomycin PKS to produce short chain ketones, 3-hydroxy acids, and saturated, branched carboxylic acids. Building upon this work, we have expanded to multi-modular systems by engineering the first two modules of lipomycin to generate unnatural polyketides as potential biofuels and specialty chemicals in Streptomyces albus.

Chemoinformatic-Guided Engineering of Polyketide Synthases.

Polyketide synthase (PKS) engineering is an attractive method to generate new molecules such as commodity, fine and specialty chemicals. A significant challenge is re-engineering a partially reductive PKS module to produce a saturated β-carbon through a reductive loop (RL) exchange. In this work, we sought to establish that chemoinformatics, a field traditionally used in drug discovery, offers a viable strategy for RL exchanges.

Overcoming the challenges of cancer drug resistance through bacterial-mediated therapy.

Despite tremendous efforts to fight cancer, it remains a major public health problem and a leading cause of death worldwide. With increased knowledge of cancer pathways and improved technological platforms, precision therapeutics that specifically target aberrant cancer pathways have improved patient outcomes. Nevertheless, a primary cause of unsuccessful cancer therapy remains cancer drug resistance.