Antimicrobial Bioenergetics

• Bioenergetics of bacterial & antimicrobial compound interactions.
• Antimicrobial peptides (AMP), mechanisms of their action and the relationship between bacterial AMP-resistance and their energetic metabolism.
• Metabolic engineering of recombinant AMP production.
• Cultivation optimization of recombinant producers in bioreactors and development of scaleup protocols.

Lab Lead, Senior researcher

Reinis Rutkis

G. Behrendt, R. Rutkis, U. Kalnenieks and K. Bettenbrock, Investigating the role of FOF1 ATPase in Zymomonas mobilis Through Deletion of Its FO and F1 Subunits. (2025) ID is: 9131862.Microbial Biotechnology (In Revision).

M. Rubina, I. Strazdina, R. Rutkis, U. Kalnenieks (2025), The promoter of Zymomonas mobilis respiratory NADH dehydrogenase (ndh) is induced by oxygen, Journal of Biotechnology, 402, doi.org/10.1016/j.jbiotec.2025.03.005.

R. Rutkis, Z. Lasa, M. Rubina, I. Strazdina, and U. Kalnenieks (2024) Eminent Antimicrobial Peptide Resistance in Zymomonas mobilis: A Novel Advantage of Intrinsically Uncoupled Energetics. Antibiotics,13,451. doi.org 10.3390/antibiotics13050451

I. Strazdina, M. Bikerniece, E.R. Paegle, K. Shvirksts, M. Grube, Z. Lasa, R. Rutkis, and U. Kalnenieks (2023) Oxidative Phosphorylation for Aerobic Survival, but Not for Growth: The Peculiar ‘Make-Accumulate-Consume’ Strategy in Zymomonas mobilis. Fermentation 9: 951. doi.org/10.3390/ fermentation9110951

K. Kovtuna, I. Strazdina, M. Bikerniece, N. Galinina, R. Rutkis, J. Martynova and U. Kalnenieks (2022) Improved hydrogen peroxide stress resistance of Zymomonas mobilis NADH dehydrogenase (ndh) and alcohol dehydrogenase (adhB) mutants. Fermentation 8:289.

R. Rutkis, Z. Ļaša, M. Rubina. R. Ščerbaka, G. Kalniņš, J. Bogans and U. Kalnenieks (2022) Antimicrobial activity of Zymomonas mobilis is related to its aerobic catabolism and acid resistance. Fermentation 8:77.

I. Strazdina, L. Klavins, N. Galinina, K. Shvirksts, M. Grube, E. Stalidzans and U. Kalnenieks (2021) Syntrophy of Crypthecodinium cohnii and immobilized Zymomonas mobilis for docosahexaenoic acid production from sucrose-containing substrates. Journal of Biotechnology 338:63-70.

U. Kalnenieks, K.M. Pappas, K. Bettenbrock (2020) Zymomonas mobilis metabolism: novel tools and targets for its rational engineering. Advances in Microbial Physiology 77:37-88.

U. Kalnenieks, E. Balodite, and R. Rutkis (2019) Metabolic Engineering of Bacterial Respiration: High vs. Low P/O and the Case of Zymomonas mobilis. Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology 7:327.

U. Kalnenieks, E. Balodite, S. Strähler, I. Strazdina, J. Rex, A. Pentjuss, K. Fuchino, P. Bruheim, R. Rutkis, K.M. Pappas, R.K. Poole, O. Sawodny and K. Bettenbrock (2019). Improvement of acetaldehyde production in Zymomonas mobilis by engineering of its aerobic metabolism. Frontiers in Microbiology 10:2533.

Development of a Sustainable and Multimodal Bacterial Platform for Treating Skin and Soft Tissue InfectionsERDF (2025-2028);

Novel anti-microbial peptides from Zymomonas mobilis for treatment of skin and soft tissue infections. ERDF (2020-2023);

Process optimisation for improved c-19 vaccine production. (2020-2021) Saiba AG, Switzerland,

A novel bacterial system with integrated micro-bubble distillation for the production of acetaldehyde. ERA IB 6th call.

Head of the laboratory

Dr.biol. Reinis Rutkis

Email reinis.rutkis@lulv 

Telephone: +371 29129436 

Fax: +371 67034885