Patron Group: Biosynthesis of plant terpenoids
Supervisor:
Dr Nicola Patron
Background:
Plants produce numerous specialised metabolites that are important for surviving stress, and for mediating interactions with bacteria, insects, fungi and other plants. This richness of bioactive molecules also provides a wealth of potential pharmaceuticals, insecticides, flavours and fragrances.
This is a fully funded DTP target project, further project details and information on how to apply can be found via the links below:
https://bbsrcdtp.lifesci.cam.ac.uk/available-targeted-projects
https://bbsrcdtp.lifesci.cam.ac.uk/how-apply
Importance of Research:
Many useful plant metabolites are often only present in tiny quantities or in rare and difficult-to-cultivate species. Chemical synthesis has provided easy and cheap access to some products but remains challenging or uneconomical for most molecules. In the past decade, aided by advances in genomics and synthetic biology, pathways for high-value natural products have been elucidated enabling scalable production in heterologous species.
Project Summary:
This project will investigate sesquiterpene lactones (STLs), a sub-class of terpenoids predominantly found in the Asteraceae (sunflower) family. It will elucidate the genetic basis of a rare and useful STL that has high potential in biomedicine and industry with the goals of enabling pathway reconstruction and engineering
What will the successful applicant do?
The student will gain expertise in comparative expression analysis, homology modelling, and phylogenomics to identify candidate genes. They will characterise candidates and employ synthetic biology approaches for pathway reconstruction. In collaboration with scientists at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, they will investigate the distribution and diversification of STLs within the Asteraceae.
This project will provide training in a range of technical skills including bioinformatics (transcriptomics, comparative genomics, molecular evolution); biochemical techniques (metabolomics, mass spectroscopy, structural modelling), genome size evaluation (flow cytometry) and synthetic biology/metabolic engineering (design, build, and test of synthetic constructs, gene editing, protein design). We also mentor students to acquire the skills, independence, and confidence they need to reach their career goals, with a focus on the development of writing, critical thinking, time management, collaboration, and presentation skills.
References:
Golubova D, Tansley C, Su H, and Patron NJ (2024) Emerging strategies for engineering natural product biosynthesis in Nicotiana benthamiana. Current Opinion in Plant Biology. 81;10261 DOI:10.1016/j.pbi.2024.102611
Frey M, Vahabi K, Cankar K, Lackus ND, Padilla-Gonzalez F, Ro DK.Reisberg L, Spring O and Tissier A (2024) Sesquiterpene Lactones – Insights into Biosynthesis, Regulation and Signalling Roles. Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences, 43(3), 131–157 DOI:10.1080/07352689.2024.2307240