Objective
Research objectives and content
The texture (and hence quality) of vegetables and fruits is influenced strongly by the mechanical properties of the plant cell wall. Although there is considerable knowledge of the structures of cell wall polymers and of the mechanical properties of cell walls and tissues, a major and persistent problem is a lack of knowledge of how altered molecular structures within cell walls translate into changes in mechanical properties.
My doctoral work in Spain has focused on the role of the cell wall associated peroxidases in the stiffening of the cell wall during growth. It would greatly enhance my future research potential if I were to gain experience in the major polysaccharide networks of cell walls, and at the same time acquire experience in molecular biology. I would therefore like to join of Professor J S Grant Reid's laboratory to participate in an investigation of the effect of xyloglucan structure modification on the properties of xyloglucan-cellulose networks.
The objectives of the work I propose in Professor Reid's laboratory are (1) to purify a xyloglucan-active a-L-fucosidase from germinated nasturtium seeds in quantities sufficient to allow its use to modify xyloglucan structure in vitro on a hundreds-of milligrams scale (2) to prepare fucose-modified xyloglucans to be assessed, in collaboration with Industry, in novel cell wall like in vitro-assembled cellulose-xyloglucan networks and (3) to obtain a cDNA clone of the fucosidase with a view to future overexpression of the enzyme.
Training content (objective, benefit and expected impact)
Professor Reid's laboratory at U Stirling enjoys world status in the isolation and molecular characterization of natural plan enzymes capable of modifying the important cellulose-xyloglucan network of the plant cell wall. By joining this active group shall learn plant enzymology and molecular biology in the context described above. and also gain exposure to their highly specialized systems to study plant cell wall polysaccharide biosynthesis.
Links with industry / industrial relevance (22)
The team collaborates closely, on an "open laboratory" basis with the industrial laboratories of Unilever plc, a major European food industry, at Bedford. I shall have the opportunity of visiting the Unilever laboratories, gaining exposure to the xyloglucan network model, to state of the an methodologies to measure cell wall rheology, and to an array of physicochemical method applied to plant cell walls.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences chemical sciences polymer sciences
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules carbohydrates
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries agriculture horticulture vegetable growing
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins enzymes
- natural sciences biological sciences molecular biology
You need to log in or register to use this function
We are sorry... an unexpected error occurred during execution.
You need to be authenticated. Your session might have expired.
Thank you for your feedback. You will soon receive an email to confirm the submission. If you have selected to be notified about the reporting status, you will also be contacted when the reporting status will change.
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Data not available
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Coordinator
FK9 4LA Stirling
United Kingdom
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.