Award details

Products and Pathways

Reference	BBS/E/J/000PR9790
Principal Investigator / Supervisor	Dr Andrew Truman
Co-Investigators / Co-Supervisors	Dr Janneke Balk, Dr Rob Field, Dr Dmitry Ghilarov, Professor Matthew Hutchings, Professor Cathie Martin, Professor Tony Miller, Professor Anne Osbourn, Professor Dale Sanders, Dr David Seung, Professor Alison Smith, Professor Barrie Wilkinson
Institution	John Innes Centre
Department	John Innes Centre Department
Funding type	Research
Value (£)	7,677,550
Status	Current
Type	Institute Project
Start date	01/04/2017
End date	31/03/2023
Duration	59 months

Abstract

The exponential rise in the numbers of sequenced genomes of plants and microbes presents unparalleled opportunities to expand and consolidate understanding of the biosynthesis and accumulation of valuable chemicals in Nature. We will exploit these opportunities using JIC’s excellent facilities for research on the synthesis of plant and microbial natural products with high actual or potential value as nutritionally-important components of food, as antibiotics, pharmaceuticals and agrichemicals, and as industrial raw materials. Discoveries in the preceding ISP have opened opportunities for broader and deeper investigations of how different metabolites are made, exploiting new methods of genome mining, systematic approaches to the expression and characterisation of whole metabolic pathways, and the capacity for rational design of new molecules in heterologous systems. Objective 1 explores the origins of chemical diversity in plants and microbes. For both types of organism, we will use our expertise in the identification of gene clusters for natural product pathways and in the transcriptional control of these pathways to uncover new chemical diversity. For bacteria, our focus is on classes of compounds with known on potential antibiotic properties. For plants, our focus is on species of known medicinal value. Objective 2 builds on our world-leading expertise in the synthesis and diversification of terpenes in plants. Its outcomes are relevant for the development of new therapeutics and industrial raw materials. In Objective 3 we seek to understand the assembly of macromolecular storage glucans, building from our deep understanding of the synthesis and turnover of glucan polymers. The outcomes will be used directly in the development of nutritionally improved crops, and have wider relevance for the development of new materials for industrial processes. Objective 4 brings together expertise in the accumulation of zinc and iron in plants to achieve an understanding of the homeostatic mechanisms involved. As in Objective 3, the outcomes feed into the development of nutritionally improved crops.

Summary

unavailable

Committee	Not funded via Committee
Research Topics	Crop Science, Industrial Biotechnology, Microbiology, Plant Science, Synthetic Biology
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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