The Cyanobacterial Natural Products research team studies the fascinating secondary metabolism of an important group of photosynthetic microbes: Cyanobacteria. Using a highly multidisciplinary approach, ranging from NMR spectroscopy to genome sequencing, and a blend of discovery- and hypothesis-based science, lab members investigate the chemistry, biosynthesis and ecology of cyanobacterial secondary metabolites. The team is particularly focused on studying compounds that contain fatty-acid residues and on the unusual enzymes that modify them, and on the discovery of secondary metabolites using genome-informed strategies.
The novel compounds unearthed by the Cyanobacterial Natural Products team are evaluated in terms of biological activity, in particular their pharmacologically- and ecologically-relevant properties. These efforts are part of CIIMAR’s Blue Biotechnology effort to add value to the biological diversity found in our oceans.

Cyanobacterial Natural Products

Principal Investigator:
Pedro Leão
TEAM
Adriana Rego
Amaranta Kahn
Ana Vieira
Anne Liong
Bárbara Pires
Diana Sousa
Eunice Ferreira
Francisco Camacho
Francisco Ramos
Inês Ribeiro
João Pedro Reis
João Pereira
Jorge Cardoso
Kathleen Abt
Konrad Viehrig
Leandro Pereira
Lígia Sousa
Marco Preto
Mariana Moutinho
Mariane Fagundes
Marine Cuau
Nuno Pinto
Paulo Oliveira
Pedro Silva
Raquel Castelo Branco
Sandra Figueiredo
Sara Freitas
Teresa Martins
Publications Highlights
Eusébio, N., Castelo-Branco, R., Sousa, D., Preto, M., D’Agostino, P., Gulder, T.A.M., Leão, P.N. (2022) Discovery and Heterologous Expression of Microginins from Microcystis aeruginosa LEGE 91341. ACS Synth Biol 11(10):3493-3503.
Martins, T.P., Glasserm, N.R., Kountz, D.J., Oliveira, P., Balskus, E.P., Leão, P.N. (2022) Biosynthesis of the Unusual Carbon Skeleton of Nocuolin A. ACS Chem Biol, 17(9):2528-2537.
Figueiredo, S.A.C., Preto, M., Moreira, G., Martins, T.P., Abt, K., Melo, A., Vasconcelos, V.M., Leão, P.N. (2021). Discovery of Cyanobacterial Natural Products Containing Fatty Acid Residues. Angew Chem Int Ed 60(18):10064.
Reis J.P.A., Figueiredo S.A.C., Sousa M.L., Leão P.N. (2020). BrtB is an O-alkylating enzyme that generates fatty acid-bartoloside esters. Nat Commun 11:1458.
Projects
- INNOVMAR: Innovation and Sustainability in the Management and Exploitation of Marine Resources
- CORAL: Sustainable Ocean Exploitation: Tools and Sensors
- FattyCyanos: Fatty acid incorporation and modification in cyanobacterial natural products
- HALVERSITY: Genetic and chemical diversity of a novel halogenase class
- EXTRATOTECA: Microalgae extracts with high added value
- AntiBacFilm: Novel marine biomolecule with antibiofilm activity
- UVNatP: Novel UV protective compounds from natural sources as active ingredients for sun care products
- ATLANTIDA: Platform for the monitoring of the North Atlantic ocean and tools for the sustainable exploitation of the marine resources
- PROPELLER: Investigation of a new class of beta-propeller enzymes
- CyanoBOX: Beta-oxidation in cyanobacteria
- CYAmoeba: Chemical-mediated interactions between cyanobacteria and amoebae
- PBA: Pacto da Bioeconomia Azul