Analysis of CLiP identity
CLiPs and their producing bacteria are ubiquitous in Nature and reports detailing the discovery of new or already characterized CLiPs from new sources appear regularly in literature. However, lack of characterisation detail threatens to cause considerable confusion. Reports exist where new CLiPs structures are claimed based on MS data alone, yet can be shown to be erroneous. Similarly, the description of already existing CLiPs is not always sufficiently substantiated. In addition, MS and many other analysis techniques do not address the question of stereochemistry, while genomic based derivations of CLiPs sequences from the NRPS gene cluster remain predictions that require experimental validation. Even when the stereochemistry is determined using, for instance, Marfey’s analysis, a mixture of D and L stereochemistry for the same amino acid type can introduce considerable ambiguity in sequence building. All these issues appear to pose insurmountable obstacles towards rapid and elucidation of the complete chemical structure of CLiPs.
In view of these obstacles, the experts involved in the Rhizoclip project launched a lipopeptide analysis service, both for academical and industrial partners. This service can be tailored to your needs; ranging from characterization of your pure lipopeptides, to the production, purification and quantification of lipopeptides starting from their producing bacterium.
