Glucosinolate hydrolysis in plants - the role of specifier proteins

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Ute Wittstock
• Subject Area: Plant Biochemistry and Biophysics
• Term: from 2009 to 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 150734515

The diversity of the glucosinolate-myrosinase system, an activated chemical defense of the Brassicaceae and related families, arises from the variation of both glucosinolate biosynthesis and glucosinolate hydrolysis. Depending on the glucosinolate structure and the presence of certain protein factors, the specifier proteins, one glucosinolate can be hydrolyzed to different products with diverse biological activities. The goal of our project is to learn to understand, how and why plants generate diversity at the level of glucosinolate hydrolysis. The proposed project is aimed at exploring the biological role, regulation and localization of specifier proteins in A. thaliana, at elucidating the biochemical mechanism of specifier proteins based on the investigation of their structure and their interaction with myrosinase, and at studying how the protein family has evolved in glucosinolate-containing plants.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants