Publications by authors named "Nora Lisa Bitzenhofer"

Natural products such as indolocarbazoles are a valuable source of highly bioactive compounds with numerous potential applications in the pharmaceutical industry. Arcyriaflavin A, isolated from marine invertebrates and slime molds, is one representative of this group and acts as a cyclin D1-cyclin-dependent kinase 4 inhibitor. To date, access to this compound has mostly relied on multi-step total synthesis.

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Pseudomonas species have become promising cell factories for the production of natural products due to their inherent robustness. Although these bacteria have naturally evolved strategies to cope with different kinds of stress, many biotechnological applications benefit from engineering of optimised chassis strains with specially adapted tolerance traits. Here, we explored the formation of outer membrane vesicles (OMV) of Pseudomonas putida KT2440.

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The expression of biosynthetic genes in bacterial hosts can enable access to high-value compounds, for which appropriate molecular genetic tools are essential. Therefore, we developed a toolbox of modular vectors, which facilitate chromosomal gene integration and expression in KT2440. To this end, we designed an integrative sequence, allowing customisation regarding the modes of integration (random, at Tn7, or into the 16S rRNA gene), promoters, antibiotic resistance markers as well as fluorescent proteins and enzymes as transcription reporters.

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Flavin-based fluorescent proteins (FbFPs), a class of small fluorescent proteins derived from light-oxygen-voltage (LOV) domains, bind ubiquitous endogenous flavins as chromophores. Due to their unique properties, they can be used as versatile in vivo reporter proteins under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. This chapter presents methodologies for in-depth characterization of the biochemical, spectroscopic, photophysical, and photochemical properties of FbFPs.

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Photocaged compounds are applied for implementing precise, optochemical control of gene expression in bacteria. To broaden the scope of UV-light-responsive inducer molecules, six photocaged carbohydrates were synthesized and photochemically characterized, with the absorption exhibiting a red-shift. Their differing linkage through ether, carbonate, and carbamate bonds revealed that carbonate and carbamate bonds are convenient.

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Biotechnological production in bacteria enables access to numerous valuable chemical compounds. Nowadays, advanced molecular genetic toolsets, enzyme engineering as well as the combinatorial use of biocatalysts, pathways, and circuits even bring new-to-nature compounds within reach. However, the associated substrates and biosynthetic products often cause severe chemical stress to the bacterial hosts.

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Diseases caused by multi-drug resistant pathogens have become a global concern. Therefore, new approaches suitable for treating these bacteria are urgently needed. In this study, we analyzed genetically encoded photosensitizers (PS) related to the green fluorescent protein (GFP) or light-oxygen-voltage (LOV) photoreceptors for their exogenous applicability as light-triggered antimicrobial agents.

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Flavin-binding fluorescent proteins (FPs) are genetically encoded in vivo reporters, which are derived from microbial and plant LOV photoreceptors. In this study, we comparatively analyzed ROS formation and light-driven antimicrobial efficacy of eleven LOV-based FPs. In particular, we determined singlet oxygen (O) quantum yields and superoxide photosensitization activities via spectroscopic assays and performed cell toxicity experiments in E.

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