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A team from the Cluster of Excellence “Balance of the Microverse” at Friedrich Schiller University Jena has described a new bacterial genus and named it after Prof. Axel Brakhage, the scientific director of the Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology (Leibniz-HKI). The four newly classified species of the genus Brakhagea originate from aquatic habitats in northern Germany. Modern genomic analyses point to their genetic potential for producing bioactive natural products. The study was published in Scientific Reports.
Some microorganisms that hold great promise for research have long lain dormant in historical collections. But it is only through new methods that their diversity and potential are becoming apparent. The team led by Prof. Christian Jogler at Friedrich Schiller University in Jena examined one such collection: bacterial strains isolated between the 1980s and the early 2000s by Heinz Schlesner from various bodies of water in northern Germany, including the Schlei, a Baltic Sea fjord, as well as ponds and a wastewater lagoon.
Using modern genome sequencing and phylogenetic analyses, the researchers were able to show that four of these bacterial strains represent previously unknown species that together form the new genus Brakhagea. This new genus belongs to the Planctomycetes, a relatively understudied group of bacteria with unusual cell biology. Like many Planctomycetes, the new Brakhagea species do not reproduce through classic binary fission, but rather through budding – a process primarily associated with yeasts: A small daughter cell grows attached to a larger mother cell and later detaches.
Potential for New Natural Products
In addition to this form of reproduction – which is unusual for bacteria – the researchers were particularly interested in examining the genomes of the newly identified species. There, they found several biosynthetic gene clusters. Such gene clusters indicate that microorganisms may be able to produce bioactive natural products. The authors therefore describe the new bacteria as possible “talented producers”, meaning potential producers of biologically active compounds. This work thus connects to a central research focus at the Leibniz-HKI: the search for microbial natural products as a basis for new therapeutics and the understanding of their role in infection biology.
Before their analysis, the bacterial strains had already been on quite a journey. From the University of Kiel, they first made their way to Regensburg, where study leader Jogler personally picked them up and brought them to Jena. “Today, we can examine these bacteria using methods that didn’t even exist at the time of their isolation. When the complete genome of a member of the Planctomycetes was first sequenced in 2003, the subsequent analysis and classification was still a labor-intensive process involving a great deal of manual work, which took around one year. Today, comparable analyses can be performed largely automatically in just a few minutes using modern bioinformatics methods. This opens up entirely new possibilities for exploring the diversity of these bacteria and their potential as sources of natural products,” says Jogler.
A Special Namesake
The name proposed for the new genus is no coincidence. By naming it Brakhagea, the researchers are honoring Axel Brakhage’s contributions to microbiology. Brakhage is a professor at Friedrich Schiller University Jena and the scientific director of the Leibniz-HKI. For decades, his scientific work has combined research on human-pathogenic fungi with the discovery of new natural products and the question of how microbial active compounds can be harnessed for antibiotics or other therapeutic approaches. With this interdisciplinary approach, he has played a decisive role in shaping the research strategy in Jena. As the founding spokesperson, he played a leading role in securing funding for the Cluster of Excellence “Balance of the Microverse”, which – together with the Cluster of Excellence “Imaginamics” – laid the groundwork for the University of Jena to now apply for the title of University of Excellence.
“I am very pleased about this special recognition and, of course, about the clear connection to one of my main research focuses here at the Leibniz-HKI: the potential of microorganisms to produce chemical compounds that can serve as the basis for new drug candidates against infectious diseases,” says Brakhage, who visited the research team at the Jogler Lab at the occasion of the announcement. During a joint tour of the laboratory, the team showed him the newly described bacteria and provided insights into the genomic analyses used to study them. “It never ceases to amaze me to see what treasures can be hidden in microbial collections. What was collected decades ago suddenly takes on new significance thanks to modern technologies,” says Brakhage.
“Even though it’s bacteria – and not fungi – that now bear my name, it’s very fitting that, with their potential for synthesizing active compounds, they serve as excellent examples of nature’s pharmacy. And although I approach things very rationally as a scientist, I must admit that such an honor also touches me personally,” adds Brakhage as the research team presents him with a personalized certificate marking the naming of the new genus.
Prof. Dr. Christian Jogler
Friedrich Schiller University Jena
Institute of Microbiology
Department of Microbial Interactions
jogler-lab@uni-jena.de
https://www.joglerlab.de/
Kumar G, Kallscheuer N, Hammer J, Haufschild T, and Jogler C (2026) The novel genus Brakhagea gen. nov. is constituted by four planctomycetal species isolated from aquatic environments in Northern Germany. Scientific Reports 16, 12750. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-47393-x
Individual cells of B. baltica and a loose, rosette-like cluster of several B. baltica cells. Above ...
Quelle: Tom Haufschild
Copyright: Jogler Lab
Visit at the Jogler Lab: The namesake receives a personalized certificate from Jogler’s team. Pictur ...
Quelle: Kerstin Breuer
Copyright: Leibniz-HKI
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