What is it about?
The fungus Penicillium chrysogenum is the producer of life-saving beta-lactam antibiotics. This multi-group collaboration, initiated and led by colleagues at DSM, unlocked the genome sequence of this important industrial microorganism.
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Why is it important?
Availability of a complete, well annotated genome sequence of Penicillium chrysogenum enabled a number of follow-up research lines, including the detailed analysis of classical strain improvement lineages and the introduction of pathways towards novel antibiotics precursors in this fungus.
Perspectives
Being involved in this project, together with my TU Delft colleagues Diana Harris (then a PhD student) and Jean-Marc Daran, was among the highlights in my career. I vividly remember pooring over our first P. chrysogenum microarray results with Diana ("Alexander Fleming could not have imagined that this would one day be possible"). Similarly, I will not easily forget how Marco van den Berg, Arnold Driessen and I wrote a first full draft of the manuscript in a single 24 hour session in a beachside hotel in Kijkduin, The Netherlands - great fun!
Prof Jack T Pronk
Technische Universiteit Delft
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Genome sequencing and analysis of the filamentous fungus Penicillium chrysogenum, Nature Biotechnology, September 2008, Nature,
DOI: 10.1038/nbt.1498.
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