Vilja Siitonen
PhD (FT)
vksiit@utu.fi Tykistökatu 6 Turku Office: 6108 ORCID identifier: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1444-2622 |
Molecular biology; Protein biology; Bioactive small metabolites; Microbiology; Fermentation; Biotransformation, HPLC, MS, NMR, GC
Photosynthetic Microbes group
Senior Researcher, Photosynthetic Microbes -research group (www.utu.fi/photo-microbes) (2025–
Postdoctoral Researcher, Photosynthetic Microbes -research group (2020–2025)
Postdoctoral Researcher, ABE Lab – Antibiotic Biosynthetic Engineering -research group (https://abelab.utu.fi) (2017–2020)
Doctoral student, ABE Lab – Antibiotic Biosynthetic Engineering -research group (2011–2016)
Research assistant, ABE Lab – Antibiotic Biosynthetic Engineering -research group (2009–2010)
Summer trainee, University of Salzburg (https://www.plus.ac.at/) (2007)
My research in the Photosynthetic Microbes -research group focuses on utilizing green algae and cyanobacteria as biocatalysts or cell factories.
My previous research in the ABE -research group focused on soil bacteria, their fermentation, genetic modification, and the structural analysis of the compounds they produce, as well as studying the functions of proteins involved in antibiotic biosynthesis.
I have taught some parts on these courses:
Photosynthetic Biotechnologies (DIBT0608-3001) (2025)
Applied Photosynthesis Research - Theory (KABI4015) (2023, 2024)
Applied Photosynthesis Research - Practical (KABI4016-3002) (2021, 2022)
Harjoitustyö biokemian tutkimusryhmässä I/II (BKEM1028/1029) (2011–2019, 8 x 1 month)
Molekyylibiologian harjoitustyöt (BKEM1010) (2011)
I have supervised theses at different levels of studies.
I have studied university pedagogy 10 ECTS.
- ActVI-ORFA directs metabolic flux towards actinorhodin by preventing intermediate degradation (2024)
- PLoS ONE
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Employing photocurable biopolymers to engineer photosynthetic 3D-printed living materials for production of chemicals (2024)
- Green Chemistry
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Mechanism of Two-Component Mono-Oxygenases Involved in Anthracycline 1-Hydroxylation (2024)
- ACS Catalysis
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Sucrose as an electron source for cofactor regeneration in recombinant Escherichia coli expressing invertase and a Baeyer Villiger monooxygenase (2024)
- Microbial Cell Factories
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Bakteerien avulla antibiootteja mikrobi- ja syöpälääkkeiksi (2023)
- Duodecim
(A2 Refereed review article in a scientific journal ) - Bioinspired mechanically stable all-polysaccharide based scaffold for photosynthetic production (2023)
- Journal of Materials Chemistry. B
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Co-factor independent oxidases ncnN and actVA-3 are involved in the dimerization of benzoisochromanequinone antibiotics in naphthocyclinone and actinorhodin biosynthesis (2023)
- FEMS Microbiology Letters
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Engineered green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii as a whole-cell photosynthetic biocatalyst for stepwise photoproduction of H-2 and ε-caprolactone (2023)
- Green Chemistry
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Evolution-inspired engineering of anthracycline methyltransferases (2023)
- PNAS nexus
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Mapping Nanocellulose- and Alginate-Based Photosynthetic Cell Factory Scaffolds: Interlinking Porosity, Wet Strength, and Gas Exchange (2023)
- Biomacromolecules
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Photosynthetically produced sucrose by immobilized Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 drives biotransformation in E. coli (2022)
- Biotechnology for Biofuels and Bioproducts
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Single cell mutant selection for metabolic engineering of actinomycetes (2022)
- Metabolic Engineering
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Biosynthesis of Diverse Type II Polyketide Core Structures in Streptomyces coelicolor M1152 (2021)
- ACS Synthetic Biology
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Differential regulation of undecylprodigiosin biosynthesis in the yeast-scavenging Streptomyces strain MBK6 (2021)
- FEMS Microbiology Letters
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Evolution‐Guided Engineering of Non‐Heme Iron Enzymes Involved in Nogalamycin Biosynthesis (2020)
- FEBS Journal
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Genotyping-Guided Discovery of Persiamycin A From Sponge-Associated Halophilic Streptomonospora sp. PA3 (2020)
- Frontiers in microbiology
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Structural characterization of three noncanonical NTF2-like superfamily proteins: implications for polyketide biosynthesis (2020)
- Acta Crystallographica Section F: Structural Biology Communications
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - The Rieske Oxygenase SnoT Catalyzes 2''-Hydroxylation of L-Rhodosamine in Nogalamycin Biosynthesis (2020)
- ChemBioChem
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Enzymatic Synthesis of the C-glycosidic Moiety of Nogalamycin R (2018)
- ACS Chemical Biology
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Discovery of the Showdomycin Gene Cluster from Streptomyces showdoensis ATCC 15227 Yields Insight into the Biosynthetic Logic of C-Nucleoside Antibiotics (2017)
- ACS Chemical Biology
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal)



