Lesley-Ann Giddings

Lesley-Ann Giddings is a natural products biochemist interested in: 1) bioprospecting extreme environments (e.g., acid rock drainage) for new bioactive agents produced by microbes; as well as 2) understanding the enzymology behind the assembly of these novel pharmacophores. Her lab approaches these problems by using culture-dependent and independent methods (i.e., next-generation sequencing) to identify secondary metabolites. She also uses basic biochemical techniques, including protein purification and enzyme kinetics, to characterize enzymes involved in secondary metabolic pathways.

Current projects include exploring extreme environments to find novel secondary metabolites, including bioactive agents and
molecular indicators of environmental change. She also characterizes enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of siderophores, metal-chelating secondary metabolites, that help microorganisms thrive in metal polluted environments. Characterizing these enzymes is important as they can be: 1) used for biocatalysis; 2) used in the synthesis of clinically approved siderophores and analogs; and 3) exploited as drug targets to prevent the virulence of human pathogens. Her lab’s overall goals are to explore connections between the ecology of an environment and bioactivity as well as understand how microbial secondary metabolites are made.

Selected Publications

(*student coauthors)

Robert Samples, Riko Mukoyama*, Jacob MC Shaffer*, Jill A. Mikucki, and Lesley-Ann Giddings (2023). OpenASAP: an affordable 3D printed atmospheric solids analysis probe (ASAP) mass spectrometry system for direct analysis of solid and liquid samples. HardwareX, e00490.

Jacob MC Shaffer*, Lesley-Ann Giddings, Robert Samples, and Jill A. Mikucki (2023). Genomic and phenotypic characterization of a red-pigmented strain of Massilia frigida isolated from an Antarctic microbial mat. Frontiers in Microbiology, 14.

Lesley-Ann Giddings, Kevin Kunstman, Bouziane Moumen, Laurent Asiama*, Stefan Green, Vincent Delafont, Matthew Brockley*, Ascel Samba-Louaka (2022). Isolation and genome analysis of an amoeba-associated bacterium Dyella terrae strain Ely Copper Mine from acid rock drainage in Vermont, USA. Frontiers in Microbiology, 13.

Lesley-Ann Giddings, George Lountos, *Kang Woo Kim, *Matthew Brockley, Scott Cherry, Danielle Needle, Joseph E. Tropea, David S. Waugh. (2021) Characterization of a broadly specific cadaverine N-hydroxylase involved in desferrioxamine B biosynthesis in Streptomyces sviceus. PLoS ONE, 16(3): e0248385.

Lesley-Ann Giddings, George Chlipala, Kevin Kunstman, Stefan Green, *Katherine Morillo, *Kieran Bhave, Holly Peterson, Heather Driscoll, and Mark Maienschein-Cline (2020). Characterization of an Acid Rock Drainage Microbiome and Transcriptome at the Ely Copper Mine Superfund Site. PLoS ONE, 15(8): e0237599.