Obiettivo Nature produces a spectacularly diverse array of complex molecules that are exploited for many applications. Elucidating the biosynthetic pathways that are used to construct these complex molecules allows implementation of metabolic engineering or synthetic biology strategies that can dramatically improve production levels of these compounds. Moreover, identifying the biosynthetic genes facilitates study of the unprecedented biochemistry harboured within these specialised metabolic pathways. Unfortunately, research progress in plant specialised metabolism has lagged, in large part due to the complexities of plant systems. This has hampered the application of state-of-the-art synthetic biology approaches that can exploit this rich metabolism. The availability of inexpensive sequence data makes this an outstanding time to revisit difficult questions in plant metabolism. My group has recently obtained RNA-seq data for 24 tissues for Catharanthus roseus, which produces vinblastine, an anti-cancer drug that is arguably one of the most complex natural products found in plants. Moreover, my group has recently pioneered the implementation of gene silencing technology in C. roseus, which provides, for the first time, the means to rapidly assess C. roseus gene function in planta. This ensures that we will have a reasonably high-throughput platform by which we can assess gene candidates identified by hierarchical clustering analysis. In Objective 1, we outline a plan to identify vinblastine biosynthetic gene candidates using our transcriptome data and then screen these candidates for function in planta. We also propose a series of in vitro assays by which to characterise promising gene candidates biochemically. In Objective 2, we propose to reconstitute portions of the vinblastine pathway in Saccharomyces cerevisiae (yeast) and the model plant Nicotiana benthamiana (tobacco) to create high-yielding platforms for production of valuable plant metabolites. Campo scientifico natural sciencesbiological sciencesbiochemistryengineering and technologyindustrial biotechnologymetabolic engineeringnatural sciencesbiological sciencessynthetic biology Programma(i) FP7-IDEAS-ERC - Specific programme: "Ideas" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013) Argomento(i) ERC-SG-LS9 - ERC Starting Grant - Applied life sciences and biotechnology Invito a presentare proposte ERC-2012-StG_20111109 Vedi altri progetti per questo bando Meccanismo di finanziamento ERC-SG - ERC Starting Grant Istituzione ospitante JOHN INNES CENTRE Contributo UE € 1 219 400,07 Indirizzo NORWICH RESEARCH PARK COLNEY NR4 7UH Norwich Regno Unito Mostra sulla mappa Regione East of England East Anglia Breckland and South Norfolk Tipo di attività Research Organisations Ricercatore principale Sarah Ellen O'connor (Dr.) Contatto amministrativo Mary Anderson (Dr.) Collegamenti Contatta l’organizzazione Opens in new window Sito web Opens in new window Costo totale Nessun dato Beneficiari (2) Classifica in ordine alfabetico Classifica per Contributo UE Espandi tutto Riduci tutto JOHN INNES CENTRE Regno Unito Contributo UE € 1 219 400,07 Indirizzo NORWICH RESEARCH PARK COLNEY NR4 7UH Norwich Mostra sulla mappa Regione East of England East Anglia Breckland and South Norfolk Tipo di attività Research Organisations Ricercatore principale Sarah Ellen O'connor (Dr.) Contatto amministrativo Mary Anderson (Dr.) Collegamenti Contatta l’organizzazione Opens in new window Sito web Opens in new window Costo totale Nessun dato UNIVERSITY OF EAST ANGLIA Partecipazione conclusa Regno Unito Contributo UE € 278 519,93 Indirizzo EARLHAM ROAD NR4 7TJ Norwich Mostra sulla mappa Regione East of England East Anglia Norwich and East Norfolk Tipo di attività Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Contatto amministrativo Chris Killen (Dr.) Collegamenti Contatta l’organizzazione Opens in new window Sito web Opens in new window Costo totale Nessun dato
