email: matthew_traxler@hms.harvard.edu

In the post-genomic era we have come to realize that naturally occurring reservoirs of genetic diversity contain vast, untapped potential for production of biologically active chemical compounds. With the genome annotation for several species of soil-dwelling Streptomyces has come the observation that these organisms contain gene clusters for many more ‘cryptic’ natural products than previously recognized. The goal of my project is to isolate novel compounds from actinomycetes by looking for interspecies interactions that influence complex developmental processes.