Research Areas
Email: nawaporn.v@chula.ac.th
Phone: 02-218-7639
Nawaporn Vinyawakin, Assistant Professor, Ph.D.
Omics research of interest Our research is focusing on developing a liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry-based untargeted metabolomics platform for detection of a wide range of metabolites. Currently, the platform has been applied to studying metabolites from bacteria. In particular, we are applying untargeted metabolomics to probe mechanisms or metabolic pathways that are involved in the stress response of Bacillus subtilis to 1-butanol. 1-Butanol has been utilized in industries as a solvent and a stabilizer, and is considered currently as a promising second-generation biofuel. Many research efforts in other groups have been spent in engineering microbes to either generate 1-butanol or transform 1-butanol to other valuable industrial products, such as 1,4-butanediol. However, the problem here often includes low yielding of desired products, which in most cases, are resulted from inability of the microbe to tolerate high concentration of 1-butanol. The more understanding of mechanisms or metabolic pathways involving in this process will potentially allow us to better design the bacteria to be more tolerant to 1-butanol in the future. Our future effort will involve extending our metabolomics platforms for the discovery of novel biologically-active secondary metabolites in other microorganisms, such as fungi. The knowledge about these novel metabolites and their biosynthetic pathways will hopefully give new ways for production of industrially-related molecules in the future. Selected publications 1. Vinayavekhin N*, Mahipant G, Vangnai AS, Sangvanich P (2015). Untargeted metabolomics analysis revealed changes in the composition of glycerolipids and phospholipids in Bacillus subtilis under 1-butanol stress. Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 99: 5971–5983. 2. Vinayavekhin N, Saghatelian A* (2011). Discovery of a protein–metabolite interaction between unsaturated fatty acids and the nuclear receptor Nur77 using a metabolomics approach. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 133: 17168–17171. 3. Vinayavekhin N, Saghatelian A* (2010). Untargeted Metabolomics. Curr. Protoc. Mol. Biol. 30.1.1–24. 4. Vinayavekhin N, Homan EA, Saghatelian A* (2010). Exploring Disease through Metabolomics. ACS Chem. Biol. 5(1): 91–103. 5. Vinayavekhin N, Saghatelian A* (2009). Regulation of Alkyl-dihydrothiazole-carboxylates (ATCs) by Iron and the Pyochelin Gene Cluster in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. ACS Chem. Biol. 4(8): 617–623.
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