Dr Jesko Koehnke
- Reader (School of Chemistry)
Research interests
Research Interests
Microbial natural products are an invaluable source of novel bioactive molecules. The Koehnke group focusses on elucidating biosynthetic steps from selected natural product pathways through a combination of biochemistry, biophysics, and structural biology. We then apply these data to generate (semisynthetic) natural product derivatives with improved properties or to derivatize (semi)synthetic molecules for drug discovery.
In addition, we collaborate with diverse groups, mainly as structural biologists, to understand biological problems, such as antibiotic resistance development or the infection process and to aid in drug design and optimization.
Research Topics
Natural product biosynthesis and derivatization
Enzymatic reaction mechanisms
Host-pathogen interactions
Natural product discovery
Publication Highlights
- Sikandar A, Franz L, Melse O, Antes I, Köhnke J (2019): Thiazoline-Specific Amidohydrolase PurAH Is the Gatekeeper of Bottromycin Biosynthesis. J Am Chem Soc. doi 10.1021/jacs.8b12231
- Sikandar A, Cirnski K, Testolin G, Volz C, Brönstrup M, Kalinina OV, Müller R, Köhnke J (2018): Adaptation of a Bacterial Multidrug Resistance System Revealed by the Structure and Function of AlbA. J Am Chem Soc. 140(48), pp. 16641-49.
- Franz L, Adam S, Santos-Aberturas J, Truman AW, Köhnke J (2017): Macroamidine formation in bottromycins is catalyzed by a divergent YcaO enzyme. J Am Chem Soc. 139(50), pp. 18158-61.
- Fu C, Sikandar A, Donner J, Zaburannyi N, Herrmann J, Reck M, Wagner-Döbler I+, Köhnke J+, Müller R+ (2017): The natural product carolacton inhibits folate-dependent C1 metabolism by targeting FolD/MTHFD. Nat Comm, 8(1): 1529
- Köhnke J, Mann G, Bent AF, Ludewig H, Shirran S, Botting C, Lebl T, Houssen WE, Jaspars M, Naismith JH (2015): Structural analysis of leader-peptide binding enables leader-free cyanobactin processing. Nat Chem Biol., 11(8), pp. 558-63.