A dolabralexin-deficient mutant provides insight into specialized diterpenoid metabolism in maize.

Two major groups of specialized metabolites in maize (Zea mays), termed kauralexins and dolabralexins, serve as known or predicted diterpenoid defenses against pathogens, herbivores, and other environmental stressors. To consider the physiological roles of the recently discovered dolabralexin pathway, we examined dolabralexin structural diversity, tissue-specificity, and stress-elicited production in a defined biosynthetic pathway mutant. Metabolomics analyses support a larger number of dolabralexin pathway products than previously known.

Optimization of Heterologous Glucoraphanin Production .

Glucoraphanin is a plant specialized metabolite found in cruciferous vegetables that has long been a target for production in a heterologous host because it can subsequently be hydrolyzed to form the chemopreventive compound sulforaphane before and during consumption. However, previous studies have only been able to produce small amounts of glucoraphanin in heterologous plant and microbial systems compared to the levels found in glucoraphanin-producing plants, suggesting that there may be missing auxiliary genes that play a role in improving production . In an effort to identify auxiliary genes required for high glucoraphanin production, we leveraged transient expression in to screen a combination of previously uncharacterized coexpressed genes and rationally selected genes alongside the glucoraphanin biosynthetic pathway.

Utilizing Plant Synthetic Biology to Improve Human Health and Wellness.

Plants offer a vast source of bioactive chemicals with the potential to improve human health through the prevention and treatment of disease. However, many potential therapeutics are produced in small amounts or in species that are difficult to cultivate. The rapidly evolving field of plant synthetic biology provides tools to capitalize on the inventive chemistry of plants by transferring metabolic pathways for therapeutics into far more tenable plants, increasing our ability to produce complex pharmaceuticals in well-studied plant systems.

Chlorophyll-carotenoid excitation energy transfer and charge transfer in for the regulation of photosynthesis.

Nonphotochemical quenching (NPQ) is a proxy for photoprotective thermal dissipation processes that regulate photosynthetic light harvesting. The identification of NPQ mechanisms and their molecular or physiological triggering factors under in vivo conditions is a matter of controversy. Here, to investigate chlorophyll (Chl)-zeaxanthin (Zea) excitation energy transfer (EET) and charge transfer (CT) as possible NPQ mechanisms, we performed transient absorption (TA) spectroscopy on live cells of the microalga We obtained evidence for the operation of both EET and CT quenching by observing spectral features associated with the Zea S and Zea excited-state absorption (ESA) signals, respectively, after Chl excitation.

Chromosome-level genome assembly and transcriptome of the green alga illuminates astaxanthin production.

Microalgae have potential to help meet energy and food demands without exacerbating environmental problems. There is interest in the unicellular green alga , because it produces lipids for biofuels and a highly valuable carotenoid nutraceutical, astaxanthin. To advance understanding of its biology and facilitate commercial development, we present a chromosome-level nuclear genome, organelle genomes, and transcriptome from diverse growth conditions.