Jurgen Rohr - Ph.D.

Dr. Rohr's research is focused on natural product drugs, i.e. antibiotics, anticancer drugs and drugs against bone diseases. It includes the elucidation of complex multi-step biosynthetic pathways, carried out by bacteria, fungi or plants, with particular emphasis on enzyme mechanisms. The results of these biosynthetic studies are used to generate modified natural product drugs through genetic engineering (pathway engineering, combinatorial biosynthesis).

Used techniques in the Rohr-laboratory include isolation and structure elucidation of natural products, incorporation experiments with isotope-labeled biosynthetic precursors, NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and recombinant DNA techniques for the targeted interruption or recombination of genes of the biosynthetic pathways. Newer aspects of the research include (i) the testing of antitumor drugs using human cancer cell lines, (ii) the investigation of biochemical signal-transduction pathways influenced by anticancer drugs, and (iii) novel cancer gene therapy concepts. Dr. Rohr's publications (ca. 120) can be found in biochemical and chemical journals, such as Angew. Chem., Biochemistry, Chem. Biol., ChemBioChem, Chem. Commun., Gene, J. Am. Chem. Soc., J. Bacteriol., J. Biol. Chem., J. Nat. Prod., J. Org. Chem., Microbiol., Mol. Gen. Genet., Nat. Prod. Rep. etc.

Before joining University of Kentucky, Dr. Rohr was Assistant and Associate Professor at the Department of Chemistry of the University of Göttingen, Germany and Associate Professor at the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences of the Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC.

Selected Honors

• Robert A. Blouin Excellence in Pharmaceutical Graduate Education Award for Academic Year (2006)
• Honor Member, Rho Chi Pharmaceutical Society (2005)
• Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC) (2004)
• Research and Scholarly Activity Award, Medical University of South Carolina, College of Pharmacy (2001)

Selected Publications/Presentations

• I. Baig, M. Perez, A. F. Braña, R. Gomathinayagam, C. Damodaran, J. A. Salas, C. Méndez*, J. Rohr*: Mithramycin Analogues Generated by Combinatorial Biosynthesis Show Improved Bioactivity. J. Nat. Prod. 2008, 71, 199-207.
• M. K. Kharel, L. Zhu, T. Liu, J. Rohr*: Multi-Oxygenase Complexes of the Gilvocarcin and Jadomycin Biosyntheses. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2007, 129, 3780-3781.
• L. Zhu, A. Luzhetskyy, M. Luzhetska, C. Mattingly, V. Adams, A. Bechthold*, J. Rohr*: Generation of New Landomycins with Altered Saccharide Pattern through Over-expression of Glycosyltransferase Gene lanGT3 in the Biosynthetic Gene Cluster of Landomycin A in Streptomyces cyanogenus S-136. ChemBioChem 2007, 8, 83-88.
• I. Baig, M. Kharel, A. Kobylyanskyy, L. Zhu, Y. Rebets, B. Ostash, A. Luzhetskyy, A. Bechthold, V. A. Fedorenko* J. Rohr: On the Acceptor Substrate of C-Glycosyltransferase UrdGT2: Three Prejadomycin C-Glycosides From an Engineered Mutant of Streptomyces globisporus 1912 DlndE(urdGT2). Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2006, 45, 7842-7846.
• M. A. Abdelfattah, J. Rohr: Premithramycinone G, an Early Shunt Product of the Mithramycin Biosynthetic Pathway Accumulated upon Inactivation of Oxygenase MtmOII. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2006, 45, 5685-5689.
• T. Liu, M. K. Kharel, C. Fischer, A. McCormick, J. Rohr: Inactivation of gilGT Encoding a C-Glycosyltransferase and gilOIII Encoding a P450 Enzyme, Allows the Details of the Late Biosynthetic Pathway to Gilvocarcin V to be Delineated. ChemBioChem 2006, 7, 1070-1077.
• V. Albertini, A. Jain, S. Vignati, S. Napoli, A. Rinaldi, I. Kwee, M. Nur-e-Alam, J. Bergant, F. Bertoni, G. M. Carbone, J. Rohr, C. V. Catapano*: Novel GC-rich DNA Binding Compounds Produced by a Genetically Engineered Mutant of the Mithramycin Producer S. argillaceus Exhibit Improved Transcriptional Repressor Activity: Implications for Cancer Therapy. Nucleic Acids Res. 2006, 34, 1721-1734.
• M. Gibson, M. Nur-e-Alam, F. Lipata, M. A. Oliveira, J. Rohr: Characterization of Kinetics and Products of the Baeyer-Villiger Oxygenase MtmOIV, the Key Enzyme of the Biosynthetic Pathway toward the Natural Product Anticancer Drug Mithramycin from Streptomyces argillaceus. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2005, 127, 17594-17595.
• U. Rix, C. Wang, Y. Chen, F. M. Lipata, L. L. Remsing Rix, L. M. Greenwell, L. C. Vining, K. Yang*, J. Rohr*: The Oxidative Ring Cleavage in Jadomycin Biosynthesis: A Multistep Oxygenation Cascade in a Biosynthetic Black Box. ChemBioChem 2005, 6, 838-845.
• M. Nur-e-Alam, C. Méndez, J. A. Salas, J. Rohr*: Elucidation of the Glycosylation Sequence of Mithramycin Biosynthesis: Isolation of 3A-Deolivosylpremithramycin B and Its Conversion to Premithramycin B by Glycosyltransferase MtmGII. ChemBioChem 2005, 6, 632-636.
• C. Sánchez, L. Zhu, A. F. Braña, A. P. Salas, J. Rohr*, C. Méndez, and J. A. Salas*: Combinatorial Biosynthesis of Antitumor Indolocarbazole Compounds. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 2005, 102, 461-466.
• T. Liu, C. Fischer, C. Beninga, J. Rohr*: Oxidative Rearrangement Processes in the Biosynthesis of Gilvocarcin V. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2004, 126, 12262-12263.

Website Links

• Research Group
• Complete Publication History [ms word]