Regulation of isoprenoid metabolism in Lavandula

这项研究将提高我们对植物中类异戊二烯或萜类天然产物的产生的理解，这些天然产物也称为次生代谢物或特殊代谢物。异戊二烯类化合物包含30,000多种生化化合物，在植物的生长、发育和生态中发挥关键作用。作为功能性食品、化妆品、卫生产品、药品和生物燃料等的关键成分，它们也具有非常重要的工业意义，并影响着人类的生活。鉴于萜类化合物的生理作用和工业重要性，人们对了解控制其在植物中产生的分子、生化和细胞机制很感兴趣。特别是，对植物中类异戊二烯代谢和储存的调节知之甚少。拟议的研究重点是调节薰衣草中精油(EO)成分(单萜和倍半萜；分别为C10和C15类萜类)的生产，薰衣草是世界各地重要的农业植物，也是加拿大值得注意的新兴作物。洗涤剂在叶和花部分表面的腺毛(或油腺)中产生大量的环氧乙烷。Eos在食品(例如糖果和饼干)、化妆品(例如香水和除臭剂)、个人护理产品(例如肥皂和洗发水)以及替代药物(例如用于芳香疗法的几种产品)中有广泛的应用。本研究的总体目标是研究洗涤剂中单-倍半萜和倍半萜生产和储存的分子生物学。具体目标是鉴定、克隆和研究结构基因和调控基因的功能，这些基因参与EO成分的生物合成和分泌，以及将碳分配给不同的萜类亚类。*拟议的研究产生了植物科学中一个重要和目前活跃的领域的知识。这些发现可以推广到其他植物，为通过植物育种和生物技术提高EO产量和质量以及其他重要的农艺性状，如抗病能力，以及相关植物的抗病能力提供了几条途径。也有很好的潜力来开发技术，以加强在植物中生产具有重要工业意义的植物化学物质，并在微生物和/或无细胞体外系统中生产高价值的萜类化合物。此外，这项研究促进了大学、政府和工业研究人员之间的合作，并为本科生和研究生以及博士后研究员的培训和就业创造了机会。此外，这项研究还使几个行业部门受益，包括薰衣草种植者，以及依赖于生产具有商业意义的异戊二烯类化合物的药用和工业植物的企业。

This research will improve our understanding of the production of the isoprenoid, or terpenoid, class of natural products, also known as secondary or specialized metabolites, in plants. The isoprenoids encompass over 30,000 biochemical compounds that play crucial roles in the growth, development and ecology of plants. They are also industrially very significant and impact human lives as key constituents of functional foods, cosmetics, hygiene products, medicines, and biofuels, among others. Given the physiological roles and industrial importance of the terpenoids, there is considerable interest in understanding the molecular, biochemical and cellular mechanisms that control their production in plants. In particular, regulation of isoprenoid metabolism and storage in plants is poorly understood. The proposed studies focus on the regulation of the production of essential oil (EO) constituents (mono- and sesquiterpenes; the C10 and C15 class of the terpenoids, respectively) in lavenders, which are important agricultural plants worldwide, and are noteworthy emerging crops in Canada. Lavenders produce large quantities of EO in glandular trichomes (or oil glands) present on the surfaces of leaf and flower parts. The EOs find extensive applications in foods (e.g., candies and cookies), cosmetics (e.g., perfumes and deodorants), personal care products (e.g., soaps and shampoos), and in alternative medicines (e.g., several products used in aromatherapy). The overall goal of this research is to investigate the molecular biology of mono- and sesquiterpene production and storage in lavenders. Specific objectives are to identify, clone and study the functions of the structural and regulatory genes involved in the biosynthesis and secretion of EO constituents, and in partitioning of carbon to various terpenoid sub-classes.***The proposed research generates knowledge in an important and currently active area of plant science. The findings, which can be extrapolated to other plants, provide several avenues for improving EO yield and quality, and other important agronomic traits such as resistance to disease, in lavenders and related plants through plant breeding and biotechnology. There is also excellent potential for development of technologies for enhancing the production of industrially important phytochemicals in plants, and for production of high value terpenoids in microbial and/or cell-free in vitro systems. Further, the research facilitates collaboration among university, government and industrial researchers and creates opportunities for training and employment of undergraduate and graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows. Additionally, the research benefits several industry sectors including lavender farmers, and businesses that rely on medicinal and industrial plants that produce commercially relevant isoprenoids.**