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Researcher in Laboratory © HIPS

Dr Carsten Volz

About

Carsten Volz studied biology at the Technical University of Kaiserslautern and obtained his diploma in biology in 2004. In 2008, he earned his PhD (Dr. rer. nat.) in microbiology, also from the Technical University of Kaiserslautern. He worked as a microbiologist at the Test- and Research Institute Pirmasens (PFI) until 2009. A Postdoc period at the Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology at Saarland University was followed by his work as a microbiologist at the Micro & Molecular Biology Division of the United States Army Public Health Command Europe in Landstuhl. In 2012, he joined the Department of Microbial Natural Products at the HIPS as a scientist.

His research at MINS is mainly related to secondary metabolites of Myxobacteria. This extraordinary group of bacteria produces a vast number of secondary metabolites, often with exciting biological activities. Many of these compounds can potentially be developed into powerful drugs against a number of diseases. Nevertheless, biosynthesis of biologically active compounds is commonly subject to tight regulation on a transcriptional, translational and/or posttranslational level. Therefore, optimization of production in the natural producers is frequently antagonized or repressed. Carsten’s work indicates that this is mainly a consequence of unsuitable cultivation conditions and lacking stimuli, leading to limited production through the underlying regulatory networks. In this light, Carsten Volz focusses on both, studies of regulation of secondary metabolite production and the development of alternative cultivation strategies.
 


2023

Unusual peptide-binding proteins guide pyrroloindoline alkaloid formation in crocagin biosynthesis

Adam S, Zheng D, Klein A, Volz C, Mullen W, Shirran S, Smith B, Kalinina O, Müller R, Koehnke J (2023)

Nature chemistry 15 (4): 560-568DOI: 10.1038/s41557-023-01153-w

2022

Expanding the Ajudazol Cytotoxin Scaffold: Insights from Genome Mining, Biosynthetic Investigations, and Novel Derivatives

Zeng H, Birkelbach J, Hoffmann J, Popoff A, Volz C, Müller R (2022)

Journal of natural productsDOI: 10.1021/acs.jnatprod.2c00637

An Outer Membrane Vesicle-Based Permeation Assay (OMPA) for Assessing Bacterial Bioavailability

Richter R, Kamal M, Koch M, Niebuur B, Huber A, Goes A, Volz C, Vergalli J, Kraus T, Müller R, …, Pagès J, Lehr C (2022)

Advanced healthcare materials 11 (5)DOI: 10.1002/adhm.202101180

2021

Targeting the energy-coupling factor (ECF) transporters: identification of new tool compounds

Diamanti E, Setyawati I, Bousis S, Souza P, mojas l, Swier l, Haupenthal J, Gibson P, Volz C, stanek w, …, slotboom d, Hirsch A (2021)

ChemRxivDOI: 10.26434/chemrxiv-2021-xq08b-v2

miRMaster 2.0: multi-species non-coding RNA sequencing analyses at scale

Fehlmann T, Kern F, Laham O, Backes C, Solomon J, Hirsch P, Volz C, Müller R, Keller A (2021)

Nucleic Acids ResDOI: 10.1093/nar/gkab268

2020

Leben und Überleben im Boden: Myxococcus xanthus ist Mikrobe des Jahres 2020

Volz C, Krug D, Müller R (2020)

Biol. Unserer Zeit 50 (6): 424-432DOI: 10.1002/biuz.202010721

An ambruticin-sensing complex modulates Myxococcus xanthus development and mediates myxobacterial interspecies communication

Marcos-Torres F, Volz C, Müller R (2020)

Nat Commun 11 (1)DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-19384-7

2019

Clinical Resistome Screening of 1,110 Escherichia coli Isolates Efficiently Recovers Diagnostically Relevant Antibiotic Resistance Biomarkers and Potential Novel Resistance Mechanisms

Volz C, Ramoni J, Beisken S, Galata V, Keller A, Plum A, Posch A, Müller R (2019)

Front. Microbiol. 10DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2019.01671

2018

Adaptation of a Bacterial Multidrug Resistance System Revealed by the Structure and Function of AlbA

Sikandar A, Cirnski K, Testolin G, Volz C, Brönstrup M, Kalinina O, Müller R, Koehnke J (2018)

J. Am. Chem. Soc. 140 (48): 16641-16649DOI: 10.1021/jacs.8b08895

2017

Structure and biosynthesis of crocagins: polycyclic postranslationally modified ribosomal peptides from Chondromyces crocatus

Viehrig K, Surup F, Volz C, Herrmann J, Abou Fayad A, Adam S, Kohnke J, Trauner D, Müller R (2017)

Angew. Chem. (56): 1-5DOI: 10.1002/anie.201612640

2015

Pinensins: the first antifungal lantibiotics

Mohr K, Volz C, Jansen R, Wray V, Hoffmann J, Bernecker S, Wink J, Gerth K, Stadler M, Müller R (2015)

Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl. 127 (38): 11254-11258DOI: 10.1002/anie.201500927

2014

Biosynthesis of crocacin involves an unusual hydrolytic release domain showing similarity to condensation domains

Müller S, Rachid S, Hoffmann T, Surup F, Volz C, Zaburannyi N, Müller R (2014)

Chem. Biol. 21 (7): 855-865DOI: 10.1016/j.chembiol.2014.05.012

2012

Enhancer binding proteins act as hetero-oligomers and link secondary metabolite production to myxococcal development, motility and predation

Volz C, Kegler C, Müller R (2012)

Chem. Biol. 19: 1447-1459DOI: 10.1016/j.chembiol.2012.09.010