The Discovery of Antibiotics-Encoding Gene Clusters, Biosynthetic Pathways and Activities.
On July 5th, the DTU Center for Research and Development held a seminar entitled “Discovery of Antibiotics-Encoding gene clusters, biosynthetic pathways and activities: Aminoglycoside and epothilone”. Professor Jae Kyung Sohng, Director of the Institute of Bimolecular Reconstruction (IBR), in the Department of Pharmaceutical Engineering, at Sun Moon University in Korea, spoke on the topic.
Professor Jae Kyung Sohng addresses the seminar
Professor Sohng has published 181 international papers on his research so far. At the seminar, he introduced his latest discoveries in the field of antibiotics-encoding gene clusters of amino glycosides, such as kanamycin, gentamicin and tobramycin, which included:
- Small molecule glycosylation and methylation.
- Biosynthesis of secondary metabolites from streptomyces.
- Enhancement of secondary metabolites by genetic engineering.
- Production of sialoside oligosaccharides.
Professor Sohng, DTU faculty and students
Innovative research by Professor Sohng has contributed to the improvement of applications to take advantage of special chemical materials. Currently, three products including 2,3-sialylactose, are used for making infant food, quercetin-3-O-xyloside is used for making beauty and medical products, and herboxidiene is used for making herbicide. These products are now being recognized by consumers worldwide.
On behalf of DTU, Associate Professor Nguyen Ngoc Minh, DTU Vice-Provost, thanked Professor Sohng for his visit and presentation. He hoped that Professor Sohng would continue to share his research results with DTU and looked forward to expanding the partnership with the Department of Pharmaceutical Engineering at Sun Moon University. The seminar was highly informative and useful for DTU lecturers and students of the Pharmacy Faculty.
(Media Center)