Synthetic Biology: Production of Novel Antibiotics - Eriko Takano

https://www.ibiology.org/bioengineeri...

Antibiotic resistance is a growing problem worldwide. To address this problem, Eriko Takano and her colleagues are developing methods to produce novel antibiotics using a synthetic biology approach. By performing genome analysis on many microbes, they can identify genes encoding novel biosynthesis pathways that may produce antibiotics. These gene clusters can be transferred to pre-engineered bacterial hosts to optimize drug production. Takano’s lab has developed software systems to search for gene clusters, and model, analyze, optimize and debug antibiotic production.

Speaker Biography:
Eriko Takano is a Professor at the University of Manchester, where she is Co-Director of the Manchester Synthetic Biology Research Centre SYNBIOCHEM. Takano studied pharmacy at Kitasato University in Tokyo before moving to the UK and receiving her PhD in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of East Anglia and the John Innes Centre. She became an Assistant Professor at the University of Tübingen and then a Rosalind Franklin Fellow and Associate Professor at the University of Groningen. In 2012, she started at the University of Manchester. Her lab develops microbial synthetic biology tools and uses them to produce fine and specialty chemicals.