Instructor: Dirk Hoffmeister and assistants, FSU, Department Pharmaceutical Biology at the HKILaboratory: March 28/29, 2011 (Course I), March 30/31, 2011 (Course II) at the HKIThis course is designed to provide students with basic techniques how in vitro and in vivo radiolabeling can be utilized in natural product research. The course is offered twice as the number of participants is limited to four students per course. All participants must complete the mandatory radiation safety orientation prior to lab work.Course I will focus on the use of 3H- and 14C-labeled precursor molecules to determine the mode of action of antibiotics in vivo (i.e. inhibition of DNA-replication, transcription, or translation). Participants are encouraged to provide their own natural products, crude extracts, or fractions, which they wish to assay.Course II emphasizes the in vitro biochemical characterization of nonribosomal peptide synthetases and related enzymes using the the phosphorus isotope 32P. The participants will be introduced to the ATP-PPi exchange assay which is commonly used to determine the substrate specificity and the kinetic properties of adenylation domains. Participants may characterize enzymes related to their own work. Please contact the instructor for coordination. Registration deadline: January 31, 2011 For Registration please contact Dorit Schmidt: dorit.schmidt@hki-jena.de