Recognizing Plant Physiology first authors: Nicolai Kallscheuer
Nicolai Kallscheuer, first author of Identification and microbial production of the raspberry phenol salidroside that is active against Huntington’s disease
Current Position: Postdoctoral Researcher at Radboud University Nijmegen, Faculty of Science, Department of Microbiology, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Education: PhD in Biology, Heinrich-Heine University Duesseldorf / Research Center Juelich, Germany; B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Biotechnology, both Aachen University of Applied Sciences, Germany
Non-scientific Interests: Water polo, swimming, cycling, gardening
Brief Bio: I have a background in biotechnology and applied microbiology. My major research focus includes the construction of microbial cell factories for the production of value-added compounds. My Master’s thesis dealt with the production of the nylon precursor adipic acid by exploitation of a novel pathway in engineered Escherichia coli strains. During my PhD I investigated catabolic pathways for aromatic compounds in Corynebacterium glutamicum and engineered this industrially relevant microorganism towards production of plant-derived polyphenols, one of three large classes of bioactive secondary metabolites in plants. In parallel to using established and well-characterized natural pathways for production, I have strong interest in combining known reactions to synthetic pathways, which then serve as promising alternative biosynthetic routes for natural compounds. While first continuing my work on production of aromatic building blocks in C. glutamicum during my Postdoc time I now investigate the yet untapped potential of Planctomycetes, a phylum of aquatic bacteria, for production of yet uncharacterized secondary metabolites.
