CSB Special Seminar: Dual Pathways: Catalysis and Control in Cytosolic Phenylalanine Biosynthesis – Joseph Lynch, PhD – University of Missouri

CSB Special Seminar: 

Joseph Lynch, PhD

University of Missouri

TITLE: Dual Pathways: Catalysis and Control in Cytosolic Phenylalanine Biosynthesis

ABSTRACT:

In plants, the aromatic amino acids phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan serve not only as essential building blocks of proteins, but also as precursors to thousands of primary and specialized metabolites with diverse roles in plant survival and fitness. It is well established that a complete set of all enzymes necessary to synthesize these amino acids from phosphoenolpyruvate and erythrose-4-phosphate are present in the plastids. However, classic biochemical evidence was used to justify the original formulation of the “Dual Pathway Hypothesis,” which posited that an extraplastidial pathway operates in parallel to contribute to total cellular aromatic amino acid production. While this hypothesis failed to gain widespread support as the dominance—and perceived exclusivity—of the plastidial pathway became evident, recent evidence has led us to revisit the Dual Pathway Hypothesis. Here I describe efforts to discover and characterize extraplastidial enzymes involved in aromatic amino acid biosynthesis, as well as factors involved in differential regulation of plastidial and cytosolic pathways. The findings of this research have implications not just for our understanding of fundamental plant function, but also for metabolic engineering of plant-based platforms for sustainable phytochemical production.

HOST: Christendat Lab

LOCATION: ES 3087