Functional charcterization of plant secondary metabolism/metabolites

植物次生代谢物是介导植物与环境相互作用的化合物。我的研究项目探索(1)参与次生代谢的途径和(2)次生代谢产物的生态作用。例如，对亚木素形成的研究可以探索代谢途径的调节和不同潜在代谢终点之间的碳分配——这是做出关于修改植物代谢以改善营养或增强抗病性的明智决策所需的关键知识。木栓蛋白是一种组织特异性细胞壁修饰物，以发育方式沉积，并对损伤作出反应，在保水性和保护病原体方面起关键作用。使用化学，生化和代谢组学方法，我的研究小组已经确定了独特的生物合成木素的关键酶的步骤。这个提议描述了我分离和表征编码这些步骤的基因的意图。虽然分子生物学工具对我的研究项目来说是新的，但它们的使用代表了我们研究木质素生物合成方法的一个合乎逻辑的进展。

Plant secondary metabolites are compounds that mediate interactions between plants and their environment. My research program explores (1) pathways involved in secondary metabolism and (2) the ecological roles of secondary metabolites. For example the study of suberin formation allows exploration of the regulation of metabolic pathways and the partitioning of carbon between different potential metabolic endpoints - critical knowledge required to make informed decisions about modifying plant metabolism for improved nutrition or enhanced disease resistance. Suberin is a tissue-specific cell wall modification deposited in a developmental manner as well as in response to wounding and plays a critical role in water retention and protection against pathogens. Using chemical, biochemical and metabolomic approaches my research group has identified key enzymatic steps unique to the biosynthesis of suberin. This proposal describes my intent to isolate and characterize the genes encoding these steps. While molecular biology tools are new to my research program, their use represents a logical progression in our approach to study suberin biosynthesis.