An E. coli-based expression system combining the production of nucleotide sugar substrates, glycosyltransferase enzymes and protein substrates will be established. The resulting in vivo expression system will be assessed and further optimised. In close collaboration with the research team of Prof. Dr. Eikmanns a further important aspect of this project represented by the assembly of sugar biosynthetic genes will be investigated to generate a pool of nucleotide sugar substrates in vivo.

Using Corynebacterium as a model system, components of the E. coli-based expression strain established at the University of Applied Sciences in Biberach will be adapted for use in the Gram-positive host. The production of glycosylated recombinant proteins will be investigated. Working in close collaboration with the E. coli research group this work will further focus on assembling, analysing and optimising the biosynthetic pathways of the nucleotide sugar substrates in Corynebacterium.