Group Research: Engineering Plant One-Carbon Metabolism

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Primary and secondary metabolism intersect in the one-carbon (1-c) area with primary metabolism supplying most of the 1-c units and competing with secondary metabolism for their use. This competition is potentially severe because plant secondary metabolism imposes hugh demands for 1-c units, especially methyl groups for the synthesis of lignin, alkaloids and osmoprotectant compounds such as glycine betaine and D-ononitol. As many current metabolic engineering projects aim to change levels of these products, and hence methyl group demand, it is essential that one understands how 1-c metabolism is regulated so that one can successfully engineer the 1-c supply to match demand. To do this requires skills in molecular biology, metabolic and analytical chemistry, in vivo NMR, and computer modeling. These skills will come from five Principal Investigators (PIs) with complementary and overlapping expertise. All PIs are used to doing interdisciplinary teamwork.