Regulation of starch synthesis in higher plants

高等植物淀粉合成的调控

• 批准号: 262209-2008
• 负责人: Emes, Michael
• 金额: $ 4.01万
• 依托单位: University of Guelph
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2010-01-01 至 2011-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=456300
• 关键词: Regulation; starch; synthesis; higher; plants

Starch is the primary source of calorific intake for mankind. As a commodity, it has wide application in the food and non-food sectors. As a food-stuff, particular types of starch known as resistant starch (RS) provide additional health benefits because of their effects on the rate of glucose absorption into the blood stream and through a pre-biotic function in the large colon where RS contributes to dietary fibre with positive benefits for colorectal health. Within the non-food sector it has many applications, including areas as diverse as the paper and board industry, biodegradable plastics, drug delivery, dry-wall manufacture, and as a replacement for hydrocarbon ingredients in paint. Increasingly it is being used as a feedstock in the energy industry for the production of bio-ethanol as an alternative to fossil fuels. Starch is a polymer made of glucose units joined together in linear chains with periodic branching giving rise to a highly organized, semi-crystalline, insoluble structure. It is biological variation in the fine-structure of starch which gives rise to its diversity of application and functionality. Despite its enormous significance for mankind, our fundamental knowledge of how it is made is still lacking to the point where we are not in a position to produce tailor-made starches for particular end-uses, other than through the use of significant chemical modification which often has deleterious environmental impact as a result of effluent by-products. Starch synthesis is dependent upon the cooperative activities of a large number of enzymes. The work described in this program of research will address basic questions about biochemical mechanisms which give rise to the coordinated interaction of the enzymes involved. In particular, the higher order mechanisms which facilitate biosynthesis of the starch granule will be investigated, including the formation of large multi-enzyme complexes in vivo. Understanding these mechanisms will provide increased opportunity for future biotechnological application.

淀粉是人类摄入热量的主要来源。 作为一种商品，它在食品和非食品部门有着广泛的应用。 作为一种食物，被称为抗性淀粉（RS）的特定类型的淀粉提供额外的健康益处，因为它们对葡萄糖吸收到血流中的速率的影响，并通过大结肠中的益生元功能，其中RS有助于膳食纤维，对结直肠健康有积极的益处。 在非食品领域，它有许多应用，包括纸张和纸板工业、生物降解塑料、药物输送、干墙制造以及油漆中碳氢化合物成分的替代品等不同领域。 它越来越多地被用作能源工业生产生物乙醇的原料，作为化石燃料的替代品。 淀粉是由葡萄糖单元以线性链连接在一起制成的聚合物，具有周期性支化，产生高度组织化的半结晶不溶性结构。 正是淀粉精细结构的生物学变异导致了其应用和功能的多样性。 尽管它对人类具有巨大的意义，但我们对其如何制造的基本知识仍然缺乏，以至于我们无法为特定的最终用途生产定制的淀粉，除非通过使用显著的化学改性，这通常会对环境产生有害的影响，作为废水副产品的结果。 淀粉的合成依赖于大量酶的协同作用。 这项研究计划中描述的工作将解决有关生化机制的基本问题，这些机制引起相关酶的协调相互作用。 特别是，更高阶的机制，促进淀粉颗粒的生物合成将进行调查，包括在体内形成大型多酶复合物。 了解这些机制将为未来的生物技术应用提供更多的机会。