EXTRIDIM · Exploring Triterpene Diversity in Monocots
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2020-09-01 → 2022-08-31
- EU contribution
- €224,934
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
Exploring Triterpene Diversity in Monocots
Triterpenes are one of the most diverse groups of plant natural products, with important roles in plant defense and wide use in medicine, food, and cosmetics. So far, studies on triterpene biosynthesis have largely focused on eudicot plants, while little is known about triterpene biosynthesis in monocots. Here, we set out to expand current knowledge of triterpene chemistry and biochemistry in monocots and to investigate mechanisms of metabolic diversification in this group of plants, and specifically in the cereals group, which together provides more than half of the global human caloric intake. A genome-wide search of pathogen-induced biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) in wheat and Brachypodium distachyon ultimately led us to discover two triterpenoids, namely ellarinacin and brachynacin, characterize their biosynthetic pathways and obtain data supporting their putative roles in defense against plant pathogens. We also expanded our investigations beyond the initially planned focus on triterpenes, and further discovered novel metabolic pathways in wheat, which produce defense-related flavonoids and diterpenes. The flavonoid-, diterpene- and triterpene-associated BGCs we identified in wheat were also found to be regulated by a highly overlapping network of transcription factors predicted to interact with multiple genes from the pathogen-responsive BGCs identified. These findings advance our understanding of chemical defenses in wheat and open up new avenues for enhancing disease resistance in this agriculturally important crop. They also exemplify the power of transcriptional networks to discover the biosynthesis of chemical defenses in plants with large, complex genomes.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
Triterpenes are one of the most diverse groups of plant natural products, with important roles in plant defense and wide use in medicine, food, and cosmetics. So far, studies on triterpene biosynthesis have largely focused on eudicot plants, while little is known about triterpene biosynthesis in monocots. Here, we seek to expand current knowledge of triterpene chemistry and biochemistry in monocots and to investigate mechanisms of metabolic diversification in this group of plants, and specifically in the cereals group, which together provides more than half of the global human caloric intake. Monocot genomes will be mined for identification of new triterpene-related genes and biosynthetic gene clusters. These will be utilized for biosynthesis of novel triterpene compounds via combinatorial recombinant expression in yeast and plant systems. Entire triterpene metabolic pathways will ultimately be introduced into the monocot model plant Brachypodium distachyon, and pathogen-tolerance of the engineered plants will be evaluated. This will serve as an important proof-of-concept for the possibility of introducing these pathways into agriculturally-important cereals and grasses. The recent publication of the common wheat genome, coupled with fears for re-emergence of devastating fungal wheat pathogens in Europe, indicate the timeliness and relevance of the proposed action. EXTRIDIM is a highly interdisciplinary project that will draw upon the synergistic combination of the expertise and well-established scientific approach of the host lab, together with the background and complementary skills of the researcher in plant molecular biology and metabolic engineering. The proposed research will greatly contribute to the researcher’s career development and strengthen the host lab, will advance our understanding of triterpene biosynthesis in the agriculturally-important cereal crops, and will potentially lead to new applications in plant protection and drug discovery.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- JOHN INNES CENTRE · NorwichCoordinatorUnited Kingdom
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union