Research Group Biochemistry of Plant Specialised Metabolites

We elucidate plant biosynthetic pathways to gain fundamental insights into the biochemistry of plants, to discover novel enzymes and enzyme mechanisms, and to improve access to medicinally valuable natural products. We use an interdisciplinary approach:

·       Bioinformatics: We screen transcriptome and genome data to identify suitable gene candidates

·       Molecular biology: We clone gene candidates into suitable vectors for expression in E. coli, yeast or plants

·       Biochemistry: We use heterologously produced enzymes in enzyme assays to evaluate their biochemical activity and the underlying mechanisms 

·       Plant science: We use gene silencing to validate the role of gene candidates in plants

·       Analytical chemistry: We employ analytical methods like GCMS, LCMS, and NMR, to monitor enzyme reactions and characterise intermediates

·       Synthetic chemistry: Synthetic methods are used by us to produce missing intermediates, introduce isotope labels, or make fluorescent derivatives

We use metabolic engineering to facilitate access to rare and structurally complex plant natural products with promising bioactivity for medicinal research. To achieve this, we co-express biosynthetic genes in yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and the wild tobacco plant Nicotiana benthamiana, to reconstruct complex biochemical pathways.