Kirschning Group

Heating unit. Pear-shaped flask with amber solution. E-flasks with organic material.

Natural products, antiinfectives, chemobiosynthesis and origin of life

Natural products are still the drivers for development of new antibiotics and antiviral agents. As part of interdisciplinary networks, we are involved in the search for and the medicinal chemical development of new natural products. A second line of research concerns the chemical use of terpene cyclases in order to expand the terpenome. In this context, we also adress questions about chemical evolution and the origin of life.

Read more about our research

Group members

Research leader: Andreas Kirschning

Publications

Structure and function of the geldanamycin amide synthase from Streptomyces hygroscopicus

Ewert, Wiebke; Bartens, Christian; Ongouta, Jekaterina; Holmes, Monika et al.

Part of Nature Communications, 2025
- DOI for Structure and function of the geldanamycin amide synthase from Streptomyces hygroscopicus
- Download full text (pdf) of Structure and function of the geldanamycin amide synthase from Streptomyces hygroscopicus
Expanding the "Terpenome": Applications of Unspecific Peroxygenases (UPOs) in Oxidations of Unnatural Terpenoids

Struwe, Henry; Grimm, Christopher; Draeger, Gerald; Beutel, Sascha et al.

Part of ChemCatChem, 2025
- DOI for Expanding the "Terpenome": Applications of Unspecific Peroxygenases (UPOs) in Oxidations of Unnatural Terpenoids
- Download full text (pdf) of Expanding the "Terpenome": Applications of Unspecific Peroxygenases (UPOs) in Oxidations of Unnatural Terpenoids
Telescoping a Prenyltransferase and a Diterpene Synthase to Transform Unnatural FPP Derivatives to Diterpenoids

Struwe, Henry; Li, Heng; Schrödter, Finn; Höft, Laurent et al.

Part of Organic Letters, p. 5888-5892, 2024
- DOI for Telescoping a Prenyltransferase and a Diterpene Synthase to Transform Unnatural FPP Derivatives to Diterpenoids
- Download full text (pdf) of Telescoping a Prenyltransferase and a Diterpene Synthase to Transform Unnatural FPP Derivatives to Diterpenoids
Synthetic studies on the tetrasubstituted D-ring of cystobactamids lead to potent terephthalic acid antibiotics

Stappert, Moritz; Kohnhäuser, Daniel; Seedorf, Tim; Coetzee, Janetta et al.

Part of Communications Chemistry, 2024
- DOI for Synthetic studies on the tetrasubstituted D-ring of cystobactamids lead to potent terephthalic acid antibiotics
- Download full text (pdf) of Synthetic studies on the tetrasubstituted D-ring of cystobactamids lead to potent terephthalic acid antibiotics
Sesquiterpene Cyclase BcBOT2 Promotes the Unprecedented Wagner-Meerwein Rearrangement of the Methoxy Group

Moeller, Malte; Dhar, Dipendu; Draeger, Gerald; Oezbasi, Mikail et al.

Part of Journal of the American Chemical Society, p. 17838-17846, 2024
- DOI for Sesquiterpene Cyclase BcBOT2 Promotes the Unprecedented Wagner-Meerwein Rearrangement of the Methoxy Group
- Download full text (pdf) of Sesquiterpene Cyclase BcBOT2 Promotes the Unprecedented Wagner-Meerwein Rearrangement of the Methoxy Group
Why pyridoxal phosphate could be a functional predecessor of thiamine pyrophosphate and speculations on a primordial metabolism

Kirschning, Andreas

Part of RSC Chemical Biology, p. 508-517, 2024
- DOI for Why pyridoxal phosphate could be a functional predecessor of thiamine pyrophosphate and speculations on a primordial metabolism
- Download full text (pdf) of Why pyridoxal phosphate could be a functional predecessor of thiamine pyrophosphate and speculations on a primordial metabolism
Optimization of the Central α-Amino Acid in Cystobactamids to the Broad-Spectrum, Resistance-Breaking Antibiotic CN-CC-861

Kohnhäuser, Daniel; Seedorf, Tim; Cirnski, Katarina; Heimann, Dominik et al.

Part of Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, p. 17162-17190, 2024
- DOI for Optimization of the Central α-Amino Acid in Cystobactamids to the Broad-Spectrum, Resistance-Breaking Antibiotic CN-CC-861
- Download full text (pdf) of Optimization of the Central α-Amino Acid in Cystobactamids to the Broad-Spectrum, Resistance-Breaking Antibiotic CN-CC-861
Chemoenzymatic Formation of Oxa-Terpenoids by Sesqui- and Diterpene Synthase-Mediated Biotransformations with 9-Oxy-FPP Ether Derivatives

Struwe, Henry; Nguyen, Trang; Schwoerer, Svenja; Droste, Jorn et al.

Part of Biochemistry, p. 498-508, 2024
- DOI for Chemoenzymatic Formation of Oxa-Terpenoids by Sesqui- and Diterpene Synthase-Mediated Biotransformations with 9-Oxy-FPP Ether Derivatives
- Download full text (pdf) of Chemoenzymatic Formation of Oxa-Terpenoids by Sesqui- and Diterpene Synthase-Mediated Biotransformations with 9-Oxy-FPP Ether Derivatives