Objetivo
Detoxification of poisonous xenobiotics in animals is typically performed by multi-gene enzyme families. Within arthropods, only insect genomes have been studied in detail where these families are well characterized. I recently uncovered a new enzyme family in the genome of a non-insect arthropod, the extremely polyphagous plant-feeding mite Tetranychus urticae and showed that this proliferated family was acquired via horizontal gene transfer from a fungal donor. The family codes for intradiol ring cleaving dioxygenases which cleave a particular set of aromatic structures, commonly found in pesticides and plant metabolites. Here, I propose to functionally characterize this exciting new gene family and to elucidate its role in xenobiotic detoxification, with a focus on plant secondary metabolites. First, to create a general picture, I will map the in situ expression of dioxygenases and time their responses to plant-derived secondary defense metabolites. Second, guided by preliminary results, I plan to study how these new herbivore enzymes counteract polyphenol oxidases, well-known plant defense enzymes that act against herbivores and target the same class of substrates. State-of-the-art plant transformation experiments will be performed in order to meticulously dissect their counterplay. Finally, by means of an unbiased multi-layered strategy, I will functionally characterize these new dioxygenases. Dioxygenases will be introduced into biological systems by functional expression in E. coli or insect cells, and by genetically transforming Drosophila. Cutting-edge differential metabolomics will identify the substrates and reaction products. By means of this project, I expect to unravel the selective advantage of this new family for phytophagous mites and open up avenues to exciting biotechnological applications which I expect to extend well beyond agriculture.
Ámbito científico (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS clasifica los proyectos con EuroSciVoc, una taxonomía plurilingüe de ámbitos científicos, mediante un proceso semiautomático basado en técnicas de procesamiento del lenguaje natural.
CORDIS clasifica los proyectos con EuroSciVoc, una taxonomía plurilingüe de ámbitos científicos, mediante un proceso semiautomático basado en técnicas de procesamiento del lenguaje natural.
- ciencias agrícolasagricultura, silvicultura y pescaagriculturaagronomíaprotección fitosanitaria
- ciencias médicas y de la saludbiotecnología médicaingeniería genéticaterapia génica
- ciencias naturalesciencias biológicasgenéticagenoma
- ciencias naturalesciencias biológicasbioquímicabiomoléculasproteínasenzima
- ciencias naturalesciencias biológicaszoologíazoología de los invertebrados
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MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinador
1012WX Amsterdam
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