U.S.-Japan Joint Seminar: Learning Nature's Strategies for Making Natural Products: Pathways, Mechanisms, Functional Genomics, and Biosynthetic Applications

Cornell Univ - State: Awds Made Prior May 2010, Ithaca NY

Investigators

Abstract

0003819 Begley This award supports the participation of American scientists in a U.S.-Japan seminar on learning nature's strategies for making natural products: pathways, mechanisms, functional genomics and biosynthetic applications, to be held in Girdwood, Alaska, from June 24-29, 2001. The co-organizers are professors Tadhg Begley of Cornell University and Professor Yutaka Ebizuka of Tokyo University in Japan. Under the impact of genomics, the field of biosynthesis is likely to undergo major growth and development over the next decade. Biosynthesis is an important field of study for many reasons: From a fundamental point of view, it is essential to understand the chemical logic used by cells from diverse environments, in order to understand how the cell works. From a practical point of view, many natural products are important in medicine and almost all of the top 25 drugs are either natural products or are based on them. The primary aim of the seminar is to discuss how scientists interested in biosynthesis of natural products can exploit the enormous amount of information being generated from genome sequencing and most effectively contribute to functional genomics. The intellectual interactions among the participants, drawn from a broad range of disciplinary backgrounds, will have a strong influence on how this growth occurs. The Seminar will consist of the following topics: 1) complete genome sequencing for more than 90 bacteria; 2) development of new tools in genomics research with applications in biosynthesis; 3) manipulation of biosynthetic gene clusters to generate new polyketide and polypeptide antibiotics; 4) elucidation of a new terpene biosynthesis pathway; 5) structural studies on biosynthetic enzymes in the terpene, polyketide, vitamin and b-lactam biosynthetic pathways; and 6) new techniques for studying biosynthesis in unculturable soil microorganisms. Seminar organizers have made a special effort to involve younger researchers as both participants and observers. The exchange of ideas and data with Japanese experts in this field will enable U.S. participants to advance their own work, and will set the stage for future collaborative projects. Dissemination of information on the seminar will be available on the World Wide Web.