
Prof. Dr. Dirk Hoffmeister
Pharmaceutical Microbiology · Head
Phone: +49 3641 9-49850 Fax: +49 3641 9-49852 Email: dirk.hoffmeister@leibniz-hki.de
- Biochemical and genetic basis of fungal natural product biosyntheses
- Natural products of basidiomycetes and Ralstonia solanacearum
- Microbial nonribosomal peptide synthetases
Professional Career
2014- | Full Professor for Pharmaceutical Microbiology, FSU Jena and HKI Jena |
2009-2014 | Associate Professor for Pharmaceutical Biology, FSU Jena and head of the associated department Pharmaceutical Biology at the HKI Jena |
2007-2009 | Assistant professor (tenure track) University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN, USA |
2008 | Habilitation in Pharmaceutical Biology and Biotechnology, Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg |
2004-2007 | Research assistant, Institute for Pharmacy, Albert-Ludwigs-University, Freiburg |
2002-2004 | Postdoc, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA (DFG-fellowship) |
2002 | Dr. rer. nat., Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Albert-Ludwigs-University, Freiburg |
1998 | Diploma in biology at the Eberhard-Karls-University, Tübingen |
Awards · Appointments · Scientific Activities
Since 2016 | Dean for Study Affairs in the Faculty of Biology and Pharmacy, FSU Jena |
2013-2016 | Scientific advisory board, Vereinigung für Allgemeine und Angewandte Mikrobiologie (VAAM). |
Since 2011 | Member of the editorial board of various journals |
(2021) Mind the mushroom: natural product biosynthetic genes and enzymes of Basidiomycota. Nat Prod Rep [Epub ahead of print] Details PubMed
(2021) Taking different roads: L-Tryptophan as the origin of psilocybe natural products. ChemPlusChem 86(1), 28-35. Details PubMed PDF
(2020) Simultaneous production of psilocybin and a cocktail of β-carboline monoamine oxidase inhibitors in ‘magic’ mushrooms. Chem Eur J 26(3), 729-734. Details PubMed Open Access PDF
(2020) S-adenosyl-L-methionin salvage impacts psilocybin formation in 'magic' mushrooms. ChemBioChem 21(9), 1364-1371. Details PubMed Open Access PDF
(2020) Scalable hybrid synthetic/biocatalytic route to psilocybin. Chem Eur J 37(26), 8281-8285. Details PubMed Open Access PDF
(2020) Injury-triggered blueing reactions of Psilocybe "magic" mushrooms. Angew Chem Int Ed 59(4), 1450-1454. Details PubMed Open Access PDF
(2020) The Laetiporus polyketide synthase LpaA produces a series of antifungal polyenes. J Antibiot 73(10), 711-720. Details PubMed Open Access PDF
(2020) Secretion of iron(III)-reducing metabolites during protein acquisition by the ectomycorrhizal fungus Paxillus involutus. Microorganisms 9(1), E35. Details PubMed Open Access PDF
(2019) Diketopiperazine formation in fungi requires dedicated cyclization and thiolation domains. Angew Chem Int Ed 58(41), 14589-14593. Details PubMed
(2019) A genomics perspective on natural product biosynthesis in plant pathogenic bacteria. Nat Prod Rep 36(2), 307-325. (Review) Details PubMed
(2019) Diversity and bioactivity of Armillaria sesquiterpene aryl ester natural products. Mycol Prog 18(8), 1027-1037. Details Open Access PDF
(2019) Melleolides impact fungal translation via elongation factor 2. Org Biomol Chem 17(19), 4906-4916. Details PubMed
(2019) Production options for psilocybin - The making of the magic. Chem Eur J 25(4), 897-903. (Review) Details PubMed
(2019) Enzymatic route toward 6-methylated baeocystin and psilocybin. ChemBioChem 20(22), 2824-2829. Details PubMed
(2019) Melleolides from honey mushroom inhibit 5-lipoxygenase via Cys159. Cell Chem Biol 26(1), 60-70.e4. Details PubMed Open Access PDF
(2018) Biocatalytic production of psilocybin and derivatives in tryptophan synthase-enhanced reactions. Chem Eur J 24(40), 10028-10031. Details PubMed
(2018) Iterative L-tryptophan methylation in Psilocybe evolved by sub-domain duplication. ChemBioChem [Accepted] Details PubMed
(2018) Multi-genome analysis identifies functional and phylogenetic diversity of basidiomycete adenylate-forming reductases. Fungal Genet Biol 112, 55-63. Details PubMed
(2018) Occurrence of european tar spot (Rhytisma acerinum) on norway maple causing severe infections in Minnesota. Plant Disease 102, 12. Details Open Access
(2018) Facile assembly and fluorescence-based screening method for heterologous expression of biosynthetic pathways in fungi. Metab Eng 48, 44-51. Details PubMed Open Access
(2018) Dissimilar pigment regulation in Serpula lacrymans and Paxillus involutus during interkingdom interactions. Microbiology 164(1), 65-77. Details PubMed Open Access PDF
(2018) Analysis of basidiomycete pigments in situ by Raman spectroscopy. J Biophoton 11(6), e201700369. Details PubMed
(2017) Structure of ralsolamycin, the inter-kingdom morphogen of the crop plant pathogen Ralstonia solanacearum GMI1000. Org Lett 19, 4868-4871. Details
(2017) Biochemical and genetic basis of orsellinic acid biosynthesis and prenylation in a stereaceous basidiomycete. Fungal Genet Biol 98, 12-19. Details
(2017) A highly conserved basidiomycete peptide synthetase produces a trimeric hydroxamate siderophore. Appl Environ Microbiol 83(21), e01478. Details PubMed
(2017) Induced chemical defense of a mushroom by a double-bond-shifting polyene synthase. Angew Chem Int Ed 56(21), 5937-5941. Details PubMed
(2017) Enzymatic synthesis of psilocybin Angew Chem Int Ed 56, 12352-12355. Details
(2017) Identification of N-Methyl-4-hydroxytryptamine (Norpsilocin) as a Psilocybe Natural Product. J Nat Prod 80, 2835-2838. Details
(2017) Fungal variegatic acid and extracellular polysaccharides promote the site specific generation of reactive oxygen species J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol 44, 329-338. Details PubMed
(2016) Plant-like biosynthesis of isoquinoline alkaloids in Aspergillus fumigatus. Nat Chem Biol 12, 419-424. Details PubMed
(2016) A non-canonical peptide synthetase adenylates 3-methyl-2-oxovaleric acid for auriculamide biosynthesis Beilstein J Org Chem 12, 2766-2770. Details
(2016) Active-Site Engineering Expands the Substrate Profile of the Basidiomycete L-Tryptophan Decarboxylase CsTDC. ChemBioChem 17, 132-136. Details PubMed
(2016) An Iterative O-Methyltransferase Catalyzes 1,11-Dimethylation of Aspergillus fumigatus Fumaric Acid Amides. ChemBioChem 17, 1813-1817. Details PubMed
(2016) Globally distributed root endophyte Phialocephala subalpina links pathogenic and saprophytic lifestyles BMC Genomics 17, 1015. Details
(2016) Unexpected metabolic versatility in a combined fungal fomannoxin/vibralactone biosynthesis. J. Nat. Prod. 79, 1407-1414. Details
(2016) Ectomycorrhizal fungi decompose soil organic matter using oxidative mechanisms adapted from saprotrophic ancestors. New Phytol 209, 1705-1719. Details PubMed
(2016) Involutin is a Fe3+ reductant Secreted by the Ectomycorrhizal Fungus Paxillus involutus during Fenton-based Decomposition of Organic Matter. Appl Environ Microbiol 81, 8427-8433. Details PubMed
(2016) Bacteria induce pigment formation in the basidiomycete Serpula lacrymans. Environ Microbiol 18, 5218-5227. Details PubMed
(2016) A fivefold parallelized biosynthetic process secures chlorination of Armillaria mellea (honey mushroom) toxins. Appl Environ Microbiol 82, 1196-1204. Details PubMed Open Access
(2015) Three redundant synthetases secure redox-active pigment production in the basidiomycete Paxillus involutus. Chem Biol 22, 1325-1334. Details PubMed
(2015) Genetic engineering activates biosynthesis of aromatic fumaric acid amides in the human pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus. Appl Environ Microbiol 81, 1594-1600. Details PubMed
(2015) Activity of α-aminoadipate reductase depends on the N-terminally extending domain. Chembiochem 16, 1426-1430. Details PubMed
(2015) Insights on the Evolution of Mycoparasitism from the Genome of Clonostachys rosea. Genome Biol Evol 7, 465-480. Details PubMed
(2015) Fungal natural products-the mushroom perspective. Front Microbiol 6, 127. Details PubMed
(2014) Cytotoxic and antifungal activities of melleolide antibiotics follow dissimilar structure-activity relationships. Phytochemistry 105, 101-108. Details PubMed
(2014) Melleolides induce rapid cell death in human primary monocytes and cancer cells. Bioorg Med Chem 22, 3856-3861. Details PubMed
(2014) Biosynthesis of the Halogenated Mycotoxin Aspirochlorine in Koji Mold Involves a Cryptic Amino Acid Conversion. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 53, 13409-13413. Details PubMed
(2014) Analysis of the Phlebiopsis gigantea Genome, Transcriptome and Secretome Provides Insight into Its Pioneer Colonization Strategies of Wood. PLOS Genet 10, e1004759. Details PubMed
(2014) Functional and phylogenetic divergence of fungal adenylate-forming reductases. Appl Environ Microbiol 80, 6175-6183. Details PubMed
(2014) Comments on the distribution and phylogeny of type I polyketide synthases and nonribosomal peptide synthetases in eukaryotes. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 111, E3946. Details PubMed
(2014) Injury-induced biosynthesis of methyl-branched polyene pigments in a white-rotting basidiomycete J Nat Prod 77, 2658-2663. Details PubMed
(2013) The fusarin analogue NG-391 impairs transcription in K-562 leukemia cells Phytochemistry Letters 6, 189-192. Details
(2013) A gene cluster responsible for biosynthesis of phomenoic acid in the plant pathogenic fungus, Leptosphaeria maculans. Fungal Genet Biol 53, 50-58. Details PubMed
(2013) Homologous NRPS-like gene clusters mediate redundant small-molecule biosynthesis in Aspergillus flavus. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 52, 1590-1594. Details PubMed
(2013) An iterative type I polyketide synthase initiates the biosynthesis of the antimycoplasma agent micacocidin. Chem Biol 20, 764-771. Details PubMed
(2013) Fungal peptide synthetases – an update on functions and specificity signatures Fungal Biology Reviews 27, 43-50. Details
(2013) Assembly of melleolide antibiotics involves a polyketide synthase with cross-coupling activity. Chem Biol 20, 1101-1106. Details PubMed
(2013) Ralfuranone thioether production by the plant pathogen Ralstonia solanacearum. Chembiochem 14, 2169-2178. Details PubMed
(2013) Bimodular peptide synthetase SidE produces fumarylalanine in the human pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus. Appl Environ Microbiol 79, 6670-6676. Details PubMed
(2012) Comparative genomics of Ceriporiopsis subvermispora and Phanerochaete chrysosporium provide insight into selective ligninolysis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 109, 5458-5463. Details PubMed
(2012) Genome mining reveals the evolutionary origin and biosynthetic potential of basidiomycete polyketide synthases. Fungal Genet Biol 49, 996-991003. Details PubMed
(2012) Sesquiterpene aryl ester natural products in North American Armillaria species Mycol Progress 11, 7-15. Details
(2012) Characterization of the Suillus grevillei quinone synthetase GreA supports a nonribosomal code for aromatic α-keto acids. Chembiochem 13, 1798-1804. Details PubMed
(2011) Secrets of the subterranean pathosystem of Armillaria. Mol Plant Pathol 12, 515-534. Details PubMed
(2011) In vitro cytotoxicity of melleolide antibiotics: structural and mechanistic aspects. Bioorg Med Chem Lett 21, 2003-2006. Details PubMed
(2011) The plant cell wall-decomposing machinery underlies the functional diversity of forest fungi. Science 333, 762-765. Details PubMed
(2011) Biosynthesis of a complex yersiniabactin-like natural product via the mic locus in phytopathogen Ralstonia solanacearum. Appl Environ Microbiol 77, 6117-6124. Details PubMed
(2011) Characterisation of the ArmA adenylation domain implies a more diverse secondary metabolism in the genus Armillaria. Fungal Biol 115, 775-781. Details PubMed
(2011) Ralfuranone biosynthesis in Ralstonia solanacearum suggests functional divergence in the quinone synthetase family of enzymes. Chem Biol 18, 354-360. Details PubMed
(2009) The global virulence regulators VsrAD and PhcA control secondary metabolism in the plant pathogen Ralstonia solanacearum. Chembiochem 10, 2730-2732. Details PubMed
(2008) Processing sites involved in intron splicing of Armillaria natural product genes. Mycol Res 112, 216-224. Details PubMed
(2008) The Aspergillus nidulans enzyme TdiB catalyzes prenyltransfer to the precursor of bioactive asterriquinones. Fungal Genet Biol 45, 302-309. Details PubMed
(2007) Accurate prediction of the Aspergillus nidulans terrequinone gene cluster boundaries using the transcriptional regulator LaeA. Fungal Genet Biol 44, 1134-1145. Details PubMed
(2007) Natural products of filamentous fungi: enzymes, genes, and their regulation. Nat Prod Rep 24, 393-416. Details PubMed
(2007) Fungal genetics, genomics, and secondary metabolites in pharmaceutical sciences. Planta Med 73, 103-115. Details PubMed
(2007) A one-pot chemoenzymatic synthesis for the universal precursor of antidiabetes and antiviral bis-indolylquinones. Chem Biol 14, 635-644. Details PubMed
(2006) Genomic mining for Aspergillus natural products. Chem Biol 13, 31-37. Details PubMed
(2005) Functional analyses of oxygenases in jadomycin biosynthesis and identification of JadH as a bifunctional oxygenase/dehydrase. J Biol Chem 280, 22508-22514. Details PubMed
(2005) Generation of novel landomycins M and O through targeted gene disruption. Chembiochem 6, 675-678. Details PubMed
(2004) The glycosyltransferase UrdGT2 catalyzes both C- and O-glycosidic sugar transfers. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 43, 2962-2965. Details PubMed
(2004) Mechanistic implications of Escherichia coli galactokinase structure-based engineering. Chembiochem 5, 989-992. Details PubMed
(2004) Rational saccharide extension by using the natural product glycosyltransferase LanGT4. Chembiochem 5, 369-371. Details PubMed
(2004) Structure-based enzyme engineering and its impact on in vitro glycorandomization. Chembiochem 5, 16-25. Details PubMed
(2003) The C-Glycosyltransferase UrdGT2 is unselective toward d- and l-configured nucleotide-bound rhodinoses. J Am Chem Soc 125, 4678-4679. Details PubMed
(2003) Creation of the first anomeric D/L-sugar kinase by means of directed evolution. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 100, 13184-13189. Details PubMed
(2003) Procaryotic and eucaryotic cells in biotech production In: Kayser O, Müller R. H. (eds.) Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Drug Discovery and Clinical Applications pp. 9-33. Wiley-Blackwell. Details
(2003) Production of landomycins in Streptomyces globisporus 1912 and S cyanogenus S136 is regulated by genes encoding putative transcriptional activators. FEMS Microbiol Lett 222, 149-153. Details PubMed
(2003) Urdamycin L: a novel metabolic shunt product that provides evidence for the role of the urdM gene in the urdamycin A biosynthetic pathway of Streptomyces fradiae TU 2717. Chembiochem 4, 109-111. Details PubMed
(2002) Engineered urdamycin glycosyltransferases are broadened and altered in substrate specificity. Chem Biol 9, 287-295. Details PubMed
(2001) Two sequence elements of glycosyltransferases involved in urdamycin biosynthesis are responsible for substrate specificity and enzymatic activity. Chem Biol 8, 557-567. Details PubMed
(2001) Biosynthesis of the orthosomycin antibiotic avilamycin A: deductions from the molecular analysis of the avi biosynthetic gene cluster of Streptomyces viridochromogenes Tü57 and production of new antibiotics. Chem Biol 8, 569-581. Details PubMed
(2000) Two new tailoring enzymes, a glycosyltransferase and an oxygenase, involved in biosynthesis of the angucycline antibiotic urdamycin A in Streptomyces fradiae Tü2717. Microbiology 146 ( Pt 1), 147-154. Details PubMed
(2000) The NDP-sugar co-substrate concentration and the enzyme expression level influence the substrate specificity of glycosyltransferases: cloning and characterization of deoxysugar biosynthetic genes of the urdamycin biosynthetic gene cluster. Chem Biol 7, 821-831. Details PubMed
(2000) Function of glycosyltransferase genes involved in urdamycin A biosynthesis. Chem Biol 7, 133-142. Details PubMed