Laboratory for Biology of Secondary Metabolism
Head of the Laboratory:
Mgr. Zdeněk Kameník, Ph.D.
Phone: +420 296 442 616
E-mail: kamenik@biomed.cas.cz
| Ing. Jiří Janata, CSc. | Head of the Laboratory |
| Mgr. Lucie Najmanová, Ph.D. | Scientist |
| Mgr. Gabriela Novotná Balíková, Ph.D. | Scientist |
| Mgr. Zdeněk Kameník , Ph.D. | Scientist |
| RNDr. Pavel Kyslík, CSc. | Scientist |
| Ing. Radek Gažák Ph.D. | Scientist |
| Mgr. Stanislav Kadlčík , Ph.D. | Scientist |
| RNDr. Markéta Koběrská, Ph.D. | Scientist |
| Vladimir Vimberg , Ph.D. | Scientist |
| Mgr. Aninda Mazumdar, Ph.D. | Postdoctoral fellow |
| Mgr. Lucie Steiningerová | PhD student |
| Mgr. Barbora Tešínská | PhD student |
| Mgr. Šimon Vobruba | PhD student |
| Mgr. Magdalena Lenartová | PhD student |
| Mgr. Jana Veselá | Research assistant |
| Bc. Jan Kýr | Student |
| Ing. Anna Gažáková | Research assistant |
| Mgr. Natalia Slonská | Research assistant |
| Ing. Lada Brázdová | PhD student |
| Bc. Anna Jelínková | Student |
| Pavla Kožnarová | Student |
| Bc. Michaela Novotná | Student |
| Bc. Monika Bartalová | Student |
| Bc. Lukáš Kekrt | Student |
| Bc. Ondřej Hřebíček | Student |
The main research topic of the laboratory is the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites. In other words, we study how the bacteria produce biologically active compounds like for example antibiotics (in our case lincomycin – a drug clinically used for example in stomatology) or anticancer pyrrolobenzodiazepines. The detailed knowledge of biosynthetic pathways is the first prerequisite for their targeted modifications in order to produce new, more efficient compounds.
This topic is tightly connected with our second aim – the study of mechanisms of action of antibiotics and, from bacterial point of view, the mechanisms of resistance. Besides the above mentioned lincosamides (lincomycin in our case) in this project we study also macrolides (for example erythromycin), streptogramins (chinupristin/dalfopristin) and glycopeptides (vancomycin and teicoplanin). The clinical isolates of staphylococci from Czech hospitals serve as model to study the mode of antibiotic action and mechanisms of resistance.
The modern methods of high throughput DNA sequencing are used in our lab to search for producers of new biologically active compounds with biotechnological potential from the environment. We also use these methods to study the correlation of bacterial communities’ composition with the environmental pollution (the monitoring of waste water treatment plants efficiency for example).
Another application of high throughput sequencing methods is our study of the composition of oral bacterial communities in patients with periodontits, a disease that threatens over 30% of world population. We investigate the changes in composition of oral bacterial consortia based on the clinical state of patients and the treatment. The aim of the project is to evolve more efficient system for monitoring of the onset of the periodontal disease and its treatment (including the response to the antibiotic therapy). The better monitoring system will enable to identify patients in risk of periodontits and to start efficient prophylaxis resulting in the decrease of treatment costs.