Our research aims to engineer biosynthetic systems for production of high value compounds with a broad range of applications in medicine, industry or agriculture through Synthetic Biology and Metabolic Engineering approaches. Through the application of innovative approaches, we are redesigning production host metabolisms to mimic other natural systems and improve performance of heterologous pathways and enzymes, regulate pathways, and optimize targeted production. By triggering evolution within the host, this work will accelerate the discovery of new pathways and the assembly of new functional biosynthetic routes. The research projects in our lab focus on two major themes: A. Development of approaches and tools and B. Biosynthesis and production of small molecules.

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Bureau, J. A., Escobar Oliva, M., Dong Y., Ignea C., 2023. Engineering yeast for production of plant terpenoids using synthetic biology approaches. Natural Product Reports 40(12), 1822-1848.

Jin, Z., Vighi, A., Dong, Y., Bureau, J.A., Ignea, C., 2023. Engineering membrane architecture for biotechnological applications. Biotechnology Advances 64, 108118.

Ignea, C., Raadam, M.H., Koutsaviti, A., Zhao, Y., Duan, Y.T., Harizani, M., Miettinen, K., Georgantea, P., Rosenfeldt, M., Viejo-Ledesma, S.E., Petersen, M.A., Bredie, W.L.P., Staerk, D., Roussis, V., Ioannou, E., Kampranis, S.C., 2022. Expanding the terpene biosynthetic code with non-canonical 16 carbon atom building blocks. Nature Communications 13(1), 5188.

Ignea, C., Raadam, M.H., Motawia, M.S., Makris, A.M., Vickers, C.E., Kampranis, S.C., 2019. Orthogonal monoterpenoid biosynthesis in yeast constructed on an isomeric substrate. Nature Communications 10(1), 3799.

Ignea, C., Pontini, M., Motawia, M.S., Maffei, M.E., Makris, A.M., Kampranis, S.C., 2018. Synthesis of 11-carbon terpenoids in yeast using protein and metabolic engineering. Nature Chemical Biology 14(12), 1090-1098.

Ignea, C., Athanasakoglou, A., Ioannou, E., Georgantea, P., Trikka, F.A., Loupassaki, S., Roussis, V., Makris, A.M., Kampranis, S.C., 2016. Carnosic acid biosynthesis elucidated by a synthetic biology platform. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 113(13), 3681-3686.

Ignea, C., Trikka, F.A., Nikolaidis, A.K., Georgantea, P., Ioannou, E., Loupassaki, S., Kefalas, P., Kanellis, A.K., Roussis, V., Makris, A.M., Kampranis, S.C., 2015. Efficient diterpene production in yeast by engineering Erg20p into a geranylgeranyl diphosphate synthase. Metabolic Engineering 27, 65-75.

Ignea, C., Ioannou, E., Georgantea, P., Loupassaki, S., Trikka, F.A., Kanellis, A.K., Makris, A.M., Roussis, V., Kampranis, S.C., 2015. Reconstructing the chemical diversity of labdane-type diterpene biosynthesis in yeast. Metabolic Engineering 28, 91-103.

Ignea, C., Pontini, M., Maffei, M.E., Makris, A.M., Kampranis, S.C., 2014. Engineering monoterpene production in yeast using a synthetic dominant negative geranyl diphosphate synthase. ACS Synthetic Biology 3(5), 298-306.