HEERLEN, NETHERLANDS -- 09/29/08 --
Major landmark in the 80 year history of Penicillin
Royal DSM N.V., the global Life Sciences and Materials Sciences
company headquartered in the Netherlands, today announces that the
renowned scientific journal "Nature Biotechnology" is publishing a
paper in its October 2008 issue on a breakthrough analysis of the DNA
sequence of the fungus Penicillium chrysogenum. The paper is the
result of a major research project initiated by DSM in which seven
international research groups participated.
The unraveling of the DNA sequence of Penicillium chrysogenum is a
major landmark in the history of penicillin, arguably the most
important drug of the 20th century and discovered by Sir Alexander
Fleming 80 years ago this month.
Gerard de Reuver, President of DSM Anti-Infectives, comments: "The
insights gained through this research will help DSM Anti-Infectives
to improve current production methods for Beta-lactam antibiotics. It
will also allow greater innovations in the development of production
mechanisms from which our customers and the patients in need of these
products will benefit too. We are committed to sustaining our world
leading position in these very important pharmaceutical products".
In order to gain a better understanding of the mechanisms by which
Penicillium chrysogenum produces antibiotics, and to improve the
efficiency of this organism in the fermentation processes, DSM
started a research project in 2004 to determine the complete DNA
sequence of Penicillium chrysogenum and to elucidate of the functions
of the different genes. The project has resulted in a high-quality
genome sequence of 32.2 million base pairs with 13,653 unique genes.
The functions of around 6,000 of these genes could be predicted and
the first functional analysis of the genome has been reported.
Scientific breakthrough
"The unraveling of the DNA sequence enables us to study the highly
complex physiology of Penicillium chrysogenum", explains Dr. Marco
van den Berg, principal scientist Metabolic Engineering and Screening
at DSM Anti-Infectives. "Never before has the sequence of this strain
been mapped to this level or such important knowledge extracted. It
is an absolute leap forward in the field of these antibiotics and it
will generate many innovative development opportunities for both
classical and new products. This project confirms DSM's leading role
in fungal biotechnology following last year's publication on another
production workhorse of DSM, Aspergillus niger."
In February 2007 DSM published, also in Nature Biotechnology, a paper
in which the company released the DNA sequence of the fungus
Aspergillus niger, a micro-organism that DSM uses for the production
of enzymes and other compounds that are mainly used in food
ingredients. This research resulted in numerous patent filings by DSM
and a whole range of new DSM products.
Follow-up research for the Penicllium chrysogenum project is now
being carried out by DSM in collaboration with academic partners in a
number of public-private partnerships in the Netherlands. This
research has already resulted in several new patent filings by DSM.
DSM - the Life Sciences and Materials Sciences Company
Royal DSM N.V. creates innovative products and services in Life
Sciences and Materials Sciences that contribute to the quality of
life. DSM's products and services are used globally in a wide range
of markets and applications, supporting a healthier, more sustainable
and more enjoyable way of life. End markets include human and animal
nutrition and health, personal care, pharmaceuticals, automotive,
coatings and paint, electrics and electronics, life protection and
housing. DSM has annual sales of almost EUR 8.8 billion and employs
some 23,000 people worldwide. The company is headquartered in the
Netherlands, with locations on five continents. DSM is listed on
Euronext Amsterdam. More information: www.dsm.com
For more information:
DSM Corporate Communications DSM Investor Relations
André van der Elsen Hans Vossen
tel. +31 (0) 45 tel. +31 (0) 45 5782864
5787162 fax +31 (0) 45 5782595
fax +31 (0) 45 e-mail
5740680 investor.relations@dsm.com
e-mail media.relations@dsm.com
Notes to editors and background information:
* Penicillium chrysogenum is a micro-organism that is used
for the production of Beta-lactam antibiotics, such as penicillins
and cephalosporins. These are converted into active pharmaceutical
ingredients like amoxicillin, ampicillin, cephalexin and
cefadroxil.
* The importance to humanity of penicillin should not be
underestimated. Penicillin-derived antibiotics are still the
world's most significant weapon against infectious diseases. This
research has provided a landmark breakthrough in our understanding
of Penicillium chrysogenum - the micro-organism that is used for
the production of antibiotics - and this will be of benefit to all
of humanity as it will help create purer products produced more
sustainably and at a cheaper price, making these crucially
important drugs more easily and widely available for all. This is
important, because penicillin-derived antibiotics are likely to
remain one of our most potent defenses against infectious diseases
for several decades to come.
* The exact number of people using penicillin around the
world every year is almost impossible to quantify but is more than
a billion. Antibiotics account for about 8% of the world
pharmaceuticals market.
* Last year's research into Aspergillus niger by DSM grew
into one of the most important industrial genomics projects in
Europe, and earned DSM a position among Europe's leading
biotechnology companies. DSM products that were developed as a
result of this research include: PeptoPro® (ingredient for muscular
recovery after physical exertion); Brewers ClarexTM (enzyme for
preventing chill-haze in beers); and PreventASeTM (enzyme for
preventing the formation of the toxic compound acrylamide during
baking or frying of certain foodstuffs).
Partners
DSM scientists carried out the research on the Penicillium
chrysogenum genome in collaboration with research partners in the
Netherlands, Germany, Spain and the USA.
Delft University of Technology, Professor Jack Pronk, head of the
Industrial Microbiology department: "This genome sequence will help
us to identify the many mutations that, over the course of half a
century of intensive strain improvement, have transformed naturally
occurring Penicillium chrysogenum, which produces only negligible
amounts of penicillin, into a highly efficient antibiotics producer.
Insight into the mechanisms and dynamics of genome change in this
unique model system will be invaluable for the rational design of
other strain improvement programs."
Groningen University. Professor Arnold Driessen, head of the
Molecular Microbiology -department: "With the aid of the genome
sequence we will now be able to elucidate the last unresolved
mechanistic questions in antibiotics biosynthesis that have proven to
be difficult to tackle otherwise. This for instance concerns the
elusive transport of penicillins and cephalosporins out of the cell.
These insights will be instrumental for the future synthetic biology
based development of novel production processes."
Title of the paper published in Nature Biotechnology
"Genome sequencing and analysis of the filamentous fungus Penicillium
chrysogenum" :
http://www.nature.com/nbt/journal/vaop/ncurrent/abs/nbt.1498.html
Press release-pdf: http://hugin.info/130663/R/1255097/273505.pdf
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