Award details

Redox Enzymes Required for Construction of the Ergot Alkaloid Framework

Reference	BBS/E/J/000CA495
Principal Investigator / Supervisor	Professor Sarah O'Connor
Co-Investigators / Co-Supervisors
Institution	John Innes Centre
Department	John Innes Centre Department
Funding type	Research
Value (£)	91,880
Status	Completed
Type	Institute Project
Start date	30/09/2013
End date	30/09/2016
Duration	36 months

Abstract

The ergot alkaloids, which are found in hundreds of fungal and plant species, exhibit a variety of biological activities that have ramifications for both the medicinal and agricultural industries. Understanding the biosynthetic pathways that generate these compounds will allow exploitation of ergots for a wider variety of applications. Furthermore, the biochemical transformations involved in these pathways are unprecedented, and we anticipate that these enzymes may be used outside of the ergot pathway for other biotechnological applications. For example, numerous bio-industrial applications have been reported for Old Yellow Enzyme homologs and we envision that the work described in Objective 1 will ultimately enable the development of more versatile Old Yellow Enzyme catalysts. All ergot alkaloids contain a common 4-ring scaffold, called the ergoline ring system. The enzymology of ergoline ring formation is still unclear, and sophisticated chemical techniques for synthesis of substrates and structural elucidation of enzymatic products is required. A multi-disciplinary team that has the capacity for molecular biology and enzymology, as well as a fundamental understanding of the complex redox chemistry involved, is needed to unlock the potential harbored within the ergot alkaloid biosynthetic pathway

Summary

unavailable

Committee	Not funded via Committee
Research Topics	Industrial Biotechnology, Microbiology
Research Priority	X – Research Priority information not available
Research Initiative	X - not in an Initiative
Funding Scheme	X – not Funded via a specific Funding Scheme

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