During the period of the financing program group members gained 18 ARRS projects (J4-4250, J4-3631, Z1-0776, L4-5530, L4-2188, V4-0558, J4-9331, V4-1079, V4-1110, L4- 5532, Z1-2190, J4-2195, J4-2154, J4-0838, M3-0234, Z7-4248, Z4-1054, J4-4149), 13 European projects (FP7¬222625 METAEXPLORE, TRIH, FP7-277984, FP7-265877, FP6¬-227 220, FP7-613912, 3211-09-000079, FP7¬222654, COST FA0907, FP7-266061, FP-036 272, Sc EUUS, FP7-213178) and 3 large industrial projects (Laško, Bia, EKOTIS) in addition to many smaller industrial projects. This shows a high interest of international community and industry in our expertise. Seven members of the program group, including also younger members of the group, show excellence in coordination of national and international projects. The program group has through these projects gained additional financial resources and thus enriched the financing of the ARRS. Extremely high number of additional projects reflects a strong involvement of the group in the international research network and highlights the importance of research results and managerial competencies of the group members.
D.01 Chairing over/coordinating (international and national) projects
COBISS.SI-ID: 4299896We have successfully supervised 28 PhD students in the period 2009-2014. Among these 14 were state financed as young researchers, while the rest were financed by separate research projects (mostly EU) and industry. Beside PhDs we successfully supervised also 79 diploma theses, in the old program scheme and additional 30 which graduated under the Bologna scheme. Finally, 21 graduates have obtained master degrees in different bologna master programs and under the supervision of the program members. This is a remarkable achievement which signifies the importance of the program for our society which stresses the continuous contribution and dedication of the program members to teaching. This is also evident in 3 day summer school on antibiotics [COBISS.SI-ID 4435576] that two members of the program (prof. Petković and prof. Jamnik) organised in September 2014. The summer school covered theoretical and practical part. In the theoretical part speakers from academia (Biotechnical faculty, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical faculty) as well as experts from industry (Krka, Lek, Acies Bio) were included. They gave lectures about discovery and development of antibiotics, their industrial production and microbial resistance to antibiotics. In the practical part of the summer school the participants learn the bioprocess of oxytetracycline production with Streptomyces rimosus as the main producer of oxytetracycline.
D.09 Tutoring for postgraduate students
COBISS.SI-ID: 4370040Members of the program group have been invited speakers at conferences 48 times and delivered lectures at Universities abroad 28 times, which emphasizes the international importance, timeliness and interest of international research community for our research achievements. We would like to put forward some special achievements such as invited lecture by the program leader, prof. Mandic Mulec at FEMS-2013 (COBISS 429861), which is the main microbiology congress in EU and where she lectured on metagenomics of bacterial laccases. She was also the invited lecturer at the international congress “Power of Microbes in industry and environment” in 2013 (COBISS 4309112) and at the Gentic’s kolloquium in 2014 (COBISS 44495224), where she lectured on sociomicrobiology. She lectured on the same topic in 2014 also at the University of Copenhagen (COBISS 4375672) and at the Helmholtz Institute (Munchen) (COBISS 4495480). Other members of the program were also often invited to lecture in the period of 2009-2014: Prof. Raspor 30 times, Prof. Smole-Mozina 7 times and prof. Petković 2 times. Prof. Raspor was in 2013 also a plenary lecturer at the 40. conference on yeast in Slovakia (COBISS 4086392), where he talked about the importance and the links between diversity and security of yeast fermentations.
B.04 Guest lecture
COBISS.SI-ID: 4298616Members of the program group have obtained 3 patent applications (COBISS 4162936; 3888760; 3746168) and 2 patents (COBISS 4250744; 3890296). We would especially emphasize the U.S. patent U.S. 8,361,777 B2 was granted for an invention, based on the newly discovered biosynthetic gene cluster for an unusual tetracycline antibiotic chelocardin. This invention provides new biologically active tetracycline structures and methods of their production, based on biosynthetic engineering and semi-synthetic chemistry approaches. The newly obtained antibiotic compounds were found to be active in a number of pathogenic organisms at extremely low concentrations and show an atypical mechanism of action, which is crucial in the development of new drugs against bacterial infections, caused by pathogenic strains, resistant to currently used antibiotics currently. The exceptional scientific importance of the new platform for development of antibiotics, together with the patent granted in 2013 is of potentially large applicative and commercial importance and has already served as a basis for cooperation with excellent academic organizations and companies that focus on the development of new drugs. Besides patents 3 patent applications (COBISS 4162936; 3888760; 3746168) were performed, which are related to optimization of the production process using genetic engineering of the secondary metabolites or production of generic drugs, improvement of the process for the production of the generic product from the group of secondary metabolites for the overweight treatment (lipstatin) and the new drug development using acyltransferase domain from polyketide synthase for FK506 biosynthesis. This process supports the incorporation of unnatural extension units in polyketide structures.
F.09 Development of a new technological process or technology
COBISS.SI-ID: 4250744Members of the program group have in the period of 2009-2014 presided and organized 4 international and 7 national scientific meetings. Prof. Mandić Mulec was the chair of the scientific and organizing committee of the 12th Symposium on Bacterial Genetics and Ecology (BAGECO-12) which took place in Ljubljana, Slovenia, from 9-13 June 2013. BAGECO meetings are held biannually and have developed into one of the most important international conferences on bacterial ecology, and succeeded to attract to Ljubljana more than 300 participants from 50 different countries. The symposium was a success and further opened the doors for collaborations with best research groups in the world.
B.01 Organiser of a scientific meeting
COBISS.SI-ID: 4259448