Ingrid Richter

• PostDoc (Marie-Curie Alumni)
• PostDoc Position at Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology - Hans Knöll Institute

Developing high-throughput assays to screen marine extracts for bioactive compounds presents both conceptual and technical challenges. One major challenge is to develop assays that have well-grounded ecological and evolutionary rationales. In this review we propose that a specific group of ligand-activated transcription factors are particularly wel...

Chromobacterium haemolyticum is an environmental bacterium that can cause severe and fatal opportunistic infections in humans and animals. Although C. haemolyticum is characterized by its strong β-haemolytic activity, the molecular basis of this phenotype has remained elusive over the more than fifteen years since the species was first described. H...

Furan‐functionalized peptides are of significant pharmacological interest due to their pronounced bioactivities and unique potential for orthogonal bioconjugation and derivatization. However, naturally occurring peptides with furyl side chains are exceedingly rare. This study presents a streamlined method to predict and assess the microbial product...

Endosymbioses have profoundly impacted the evolution of life and continue to shape the ecology of a wide range of species. They give rise to new combinations of biochemical capabilities that promote innovation and diversification1,2. Despite the many examples of known endosymbioses across the tree of life, their de novo emergence is rare and challe...

The endosymbiosis between the pathogenic fungus Rhizopus microsporus and the toxin-producing bacterium Mycetohabitans rhizoxinica represents a unique example of host control by an endosymbiont. Fungal sporulation strictly depends on the presence of endosymbionts as well as bacterially produced secondary metabolites. However, an influence of primary...

Interactions between fungi and bacteria are critically important in ecology, medicine, and biotechnology. In this study, we shed light on factors that promote the persistence of a toxin-producing, phytopathogenic Rhizopus-Mycetohabitans symbiosis that causes severe crop losses in Asia. We present an unprecedented case where bacterially produced tra...

As an endosymbiont of the ecologically and medically relevant fungus Rhizopus microsporus, the toxin-producing bacterium Mycetohabitans rhizoxinica faces myriad challenges, such as evading the host's defense mechanisms. However, the bacterial effector(s) that facilitate the remarkable ability of M. rhizoxinica to freely migrate within fungal hyphae...

The soil community is a complex system characterized by predator-prey interactions. Fungi have developed effective strategies to defend themselves against predators.

The microbial cofactor F 420 is crucial for processes like methanogenesis, antibiotics biosynthesis, drug resistance, and biocatalysis. Recently, a novel derivative of F 420 (3PG-F 420 ) was discovered, enabling the production and use of F 420 in heterologous hosts.

Significance Soil is a complex and competitive environment, forcing its inhabitants to develop strategies against competitors, predators, and pathogens. Identifying and understanding the molecular mechanisms has translational value for medicine, ecology, and agriculture. In this study, we show that a member of important soil-dwelling fungi ( Mortie...

Coenzyme F 420 is a microbial redox cofactor that is increasingly used for biocatalytic applications. Recently, diversified biosynthetic routes to F 420 and the discovery of a derivative, 3PG-F 420 , were reported. 3PG-F 420 is formed via activation of 3-phospho-D-glycerate (3-PG) by CofC, but the structural basis of substrate binding, its evolutio...

The association of the agriculturally significant phytopathogenic fungus Rhizopus microsporus with the bacterial endosymbiont Burkholderia rhizoxinica is a remarkable example of bacteria controlling host physiology and reproduction. Here, we show that a group of transcription activator-like effectors (TALEs) called Burkholderia TALE-like proteins (...

Coenzyme F420 is a specialized redox cofactor with a negative redox potential. It supports biochemical processes like methanogenesis, degradation of xenobiotics or the biosynthesis of antibiotics. Although well-studied in methanogenic archaea and actinobacteria, not much is known about F420 in Gram-negative bacteria. Genome sequencing revealed F420...

Burkholderia species such as B. mallei and B. pseudomallei are bacterial pathogens causing fatal infections in humans and animals (glanders and melioidosis), yet knowledge on their virulence factors is limited. While pathogenic effects have been linked to a highly conserved gene locus (bur/mal) in the B. mallei group, the metabolite associated to t...

Virulenzfaktor: Die tatsächlichen Effektormoleküle eines krankheitsbestimmenden Biosynthesegenclusters aus diversen pathogenen Bakterien wurden entdeckt. Mit einem Cyclopropanol‐Warhead ausgestattete Polyketide zeigen hohe chemische Reaktivität und starke Wirksamkeit in einem eukaryontischen Infektionsmodell, Caenorhabditis elegans. Die chemischen...

Coenzyme F420 is a specialized redox cofactor with a highly negative redox potential. It supports biochemical processes like methanogenesis, degradation of xenobiotics or the biosynthesis of antibiotics. Although well-studied in methanogenic archaea and actinobacteria, not much is known about F420 in Gram-negative bacteria. Genome sequencing reveal...

Vessel movements are considered the primary anthropogenic pathway for the secondary spread of marine non-indigenous species. In comparison to the well-studied mechanisms of hull fouling and ballast water, the importance of bilge water for domestic and cross-regional spread of non-indigenous species is largely unknown and has the potential to compro...

The Mediterranean fanworm, Sabella spallanzanii Gmelin 1791, was first detected in the Southern Hemisphere in the 1990s and is now abundant in many parts of southern Australia and in several locations around northern New Zealand. Once established, it can proliferate rapidly, reaching high densities with potential ecological and economic impacts. Ea...

Archaea are the least understood members of the microbial community in Antarctic mineral soils. Although their occurrence in Antarctic coastal soils has been previously documented, little is known about their distribution in soils across the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Victoria Land. In this study, terminal-restriction fragment length polymorphism (t-RFLP...

Site‐directed mutagenesis was used to explore the ligand sphere and geometry of a novel binuclear manganese biocatalyst (see picture; Mn green, C gray, O red, N blue) that oxidizes amino to nitro groups with high specificity. The involvement of Mn in catalysis and radical formation was unequivocally proven by ESR spectroscopy.