| Dr. Claudia Schmidt-Dannert |
[ Back ] |
 |
 |
|
|
Research Interests
Natural product biosynthesis, evolutionary and rational protein design
|
|
|
Research Description
Microorganisms and plants synthesize a tremendous diversity of chemical compounds
useful as drugs, materials and in food applications. The still largely unexplored
structural and chemical diversity of natural products is unmatched by synthetic
method and continues to be the most successful source for the discovery of
novel scaffolds with important biological activities.
We are exploiting and investigating the selectivity and specificity of the
biosynthetic machineries that make these complex compounds to create ways of
synthesizing diverse natural products or their core scaffolds for further synthetic
modification. Efforts in genome sequencing give us access to an incredible
number of genes from microorganisms and more recently, from plants that can
be in silico screened for new biosynthetic functions allowing tapping
into the synthetic potential of microorganisms, and especially plants. To do
so, we are fitting microbial cells with new biosynthetic abilities using metabolic
and genetic pathway engineering strategies together with evolutionary and rational
protein engineering strategies to alter and study biosynthetic activities.
Education and Professional Experience
| 2005- |
Associate Professor |
| 2001 - 2003 |
McKnight Land-Grant Professor |
| 2000 - 2004 |
Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry,
Molecular
Biology and Biophysics, University of
Minnesota |
| 1998 - 2000 |
Visiting Scientist on a Habilitation-Fellowship of the German Science
Foundation in Frances Arnold's
Group
at CalTech |
| 1995 - 1999 |
Head of Molecular Biotechnology Group, Institute of
Technical Biochemistry, University of Stuttgart, Germany |
| 1994 - 1995 |
Postdoctoral Associate, Institute of Technical
Biochemistry,
University of Stuttgart, Germany
(with
Rolf D. Schmid) |
| 12/1994 |
Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Technical University
of Braunschweig, Ph.D. advisor: Rolf D. Schmid |
| 1992 - 1994 |
Ph.D. Research Associate, National Research Center for
Biotechnology (GBF) Braunschweig, Germany |
| 1990-1991 |
Research Assistant, National Research Center for Biotechnology
(GBF) Braunschweig, Germany
|
| 1988 - 1991 |
M. Sc. (Diploma) Biochemistry/Biotechnology, Molecular Biology, Organic
Chemistry, Technical University of Braunschweig, Germany |
| 1985 - 1987 |
B. Sc. Biology, Technical University of Braunschweig, Germany |
Awards and Honors
- McKnight Presidential Fellow (2005-2008)
- David & Lucile Packard Fellowship in Science & Engineering (2001-2006)
- McKnight Land-Grant Professorship (2001-2003)
- Profiled in US News & World Report in 2000 years-end special edition on "Innovators
2001 in Science"
- DuPont Science and Engineering Award for Young Professors (2000)
- Habilitation-Fellowship of the German Science Foundation (DFG) (1998-1999)
Friedrich-Ebert Foundation scholarship (1988-1992)
Recent Publications
- C. Schmidt-Dannert, D. Umeno and F.H. Arnold (2000) Molecular breeding
of carotenoid biosynthetic pathways. Nature Biotechnol. 18:750-753. PMID:10888843
- P.C. Lee, A.Z.R. Momen, B. Mijts and C. Schmidt-Dannert (2003) Biosynthesis
of structurally novel carotenoids in Escherichia coli. Chem. Biol.
10:452-463. PMID: 12770827
- S.J. Kwon, A. deBoer, R. Petri, C. Schmidt-Dannert (2003) High-level production
of porphyrins in metabolically engineered E. coli: Systematic extension
of a pathway assembled from overexpressed genes involved in heme biosynthesis.
Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 69:4875-4882. PMID: 12902282
- B.N. Mijts, C. Schmidt-Dannert (2003) Engineering of secondary metabolic
pathways. Curr. Opin. Biotechnol. 14:597-602. PMID: 14662388
- K. Watts, P.C. Lee and C. Schmidt-Dannert (2004) Exploring recombinant
flavonoid biosynthesis in metabolically engineered Escherichia coli.
ChemBioChem. 5:500-507. PMID: 15185374
- R. Petri and C. Schmidt-Dannert (2004) BioCyc-Genome and Metabolism. Angew.
Chem. Int. Ed. 43:1908.
- Petri and C. Schmidt-Dannert (2004) Dealing with complexity: Evolutionary
engineering and genome shuffling. Curr. Opin. Biotechnol. 5:298-304. PMID: 15296928
- S.J. Kwon, R. Petri, A.L. de Boer and C. Schmidt-Dannert (2004) A high-throughput
screen for metal chelatases: Application to the directed evolution of ferrochelatases
for metalloporphyrin biosynthesis. ChemBiochem. 5:1069-1074. PMID: 15300829
- P.C. Lee, R. Petri, B.N. Mijts, K.T. Watts and C. Schmidt-Dannert (2004)
Alteration of product specificity of Aeropyrum pernix farnesylgeranyl
diphosphate synthase (Fgs) by directed evolution. Protein Eng. Des. Sel.
17:771-7. PMID: 15548566
- P.C. Lee, R. Petri, B. N. Mijts, K.T. Watts and C. Schmidt-Dannert (2005)
Directed evolution of Escherichia coli farnesyl diphosphate synthase
(IspA) reveals novel determinants of chain length specificity. Metab. Eng.7:18-26.
PMID: 15721807
- B. Mijts, P.C. Lee and C. Schmidt-Dannert (2005) Identification of a carotenoid
oxygenase synthesizing novel acyclic carotenoids: combinatorial biosynthesis
and directed evolution. Chem. Biol. 12:1-8. PMID: 15850982
- K.T. Watts, B.N. Mijts and C. Schmidt-Dannert (2005) Current and emerging
approaches for natural product biosynthesis in microbial cells.
Adv. Synth. Catal. 347:927-940.
- K.T. Watts, P.C. Lee and C. Schmidt-Dannert
(2006) Biosynthesis of plant specific stilbene polyketides
in metabolically engineered E. coli.
BMC Biotechnol. 6:22. PMID: 16551366
|
Email: 
