Biosynthetic and toxic potential of ergot: Biological activity of ergot alkaloids and genome mining for the identification further potential toxic secondary metabolites

Basic data for this project

Description

Ergot Alkaloids (EA) are produced by the Ergot fungus Claviceps purpurea on infected grain and have high relevance as food contaminant but also for pharmacological applications for the treatment of diseases of the CNS. Aim of this proposal is on the one hand to elucidate the regulation of the EA biosynthesis and to study the toxic/physiological effects of EA, and on the other hand - based on the recently available genome sequence - to elucidate the potential of C. purpurea to produce other biological active secondary metabolites which might play a role as food contaminants. The planned proposal combines the expertise of both applicants in the field of instrumental analysis and toxicity studies of fungal secondary metabolites and the molecular biological knowledge of the fungal biosynthesis.