What we do

Natural product discovery from bacteria

Despite their ability to cause disease, bacteria are also a major source of compounds (antibiotics, antifungals, etc) that are currently used to treat microbial infections. These compounds sourced from nature are known as natural products. Our research seeks to identify these pharmacologically useful molecules and to investigate their microbial biosynthesis.
Our main priority is to identify and produce new antibiotics and we aim to achieve this through a combination of genomic, microbiological and chemical methods. These methods also allow us to investigate the biosynthetic pathways through which these molecules are produced.
Techniques involved in our studies include:

• ​DNA sequencing and bioinformatic analysis
• Antimicrobial assays
• DNA manipulation and genetic exchange
• Natural product isolation and structure elucidation

Identification of new antimicrobials
The development of new antibiotics is key to addressing the crisis in human health caused by the rise of multi-drug resistant superbugs. We use microbiological and analytical chemical methods to identify biologically active natural products from bacteria and identify their structures. We then use genetic and biochemical techniques to build upon and improve their biological activities.
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Illuminating microbial "dark matter"
While the rediscovery of known compounds is a significant problem when empirically screening bacteria for antibiotic production, multiple genomics studies have shown that the well of antimicrobials is not yet dry and there are many more potential compounds to find. However, the majority of these identified biosynthetic loci appear to be silent under standard culture conditions. We use a combination of approaches (genetic, biochemical and microbiological) to activate these cryptic gene clusters and identify the resulting metabolites.

Culturing the "unculturable"
The vast majority of bioactive natural products have been identified from soil bacteria. Yet, it is estimated that we have only been able to culture between 0.1-1% of the bacteria present in soil. By gaining access to previously uncultured microbes, we have the potential to identify previously unseen antimicrobials. We use a combination of innovative culture techniques to grow bacteria hiding within soil and to investigate their biosynthesis of new natural products.

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​Collaborators
In addition to these projects, we work with great people both locally and internationally, including:

• Tim Stinear, Doherty Institute, University of Melbourne
• Ben Howden,  Doherty Institute, University of Melbourne
• Torsten Seemann, Doherty Institute, University of Melbourne
• Mark Rizzacasa, School of Chemistry, Bio21 Institute, University of Melbourne
• Spencer Williams, School of Chemistry, Bio21 Institute, University of Melbourne 
• Christian Hertweck, Leibniz Institute for  Natural Product Research and Infection Biology (HKI), Jena
• Helge Bode, Goethe University, Frankfurt