natural product chemistry

SYNLAB

SYNLAB

The early work of Botta group was devoted to the structural elucidation and synthesis of biological active molecules derived from plant in vivo. Since 1984, his group have been working in the field of in vitro plant tissue cultures. The general aim of the investigation was directed toward the understanding of biosynthetic pathways of the isolated metabolites and the isolation of the responsible enzymes. During this research, new plant enzymes (e.g. peroxidases) have been isolated, purified, and characterized by chemical and kinetic studies.

Ent-beyerane diterpenes as a key platform for the development of arnt-mediated colistin resistance inhibitors

Colistin is a last-resort antibiotic for the treatment of multidrug resistant Gram-negative bacterial infections. Recently, a natural ent-beyerene diterpene was identified as a promising inhibitor of the enzyme responsible for colistin resistance mediated by lipid A aminoarabinosylation in Gram-negative bacteria, namely, ArnT (undecaprenyl phosphate-alpha-4-amino-4-deoxy-l-arabinose arabinosyl transferase).

© Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza" - Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Roma