Thesis supervisor: Vilmos Soós
Location of studies (in Hungarian): HUN-REN Centre for Agricultural Research, Department of Biological Resources, Martonvásár Abbreviation of location of studies: H-REN
Description of the research topic:
D27-like isomerases are the first examples of enzymes which directly contribute to the biosynthesis of two major plant hormones. D27 and D27-LIKE1 can catalyse the conversion of trans-beta-carotene to 9-cis isomers, and trans-violaxanthin to 9-cis-violaxanthin, which are the direct precursors of SL and ABA biosynthesis, respectively. In planta, D27 functions primarily to set SL levels, while D27-LIKE1 adjusts ABA biosynthesis through fine tuning 9-cis-violaxanthin levels. Conversely, both enzymes have auxiliary function in either ABA or SL biosynthesis. The evolutional ancestry of D27-like proteins predicts that their functions are more diverged than redundant. It is not clear what is the exact physiological basis of these chiselled functions, as either a precise setting of expression or a direct enzymatic activity might lie behind. To elucidate the functional divergence and regulation in depth, our lab launches two newly funded projects to investigate higher order mutants, complementing lines and combinations with mutants impaired in ABA biosynthesis in Arabidopsis. Intriguingly, SLs and ABA mutually and positively regulate each others’ biosynthesis in dicots through D27, however, this is not the case in monocots, where D27-like proteins have undergone further, subclade or order-specific functional divergence and might have evolved to bear novel and elusive carotenoid isomerase specificity. Therefore, we will conduct complex experiments with barley recombinant proteins, heterologous expression systems and wt as well as silenced/KO lines to investigate the diverged functions and contribution of D27-like proteins to either SL or ABA biosynthesis. Furthermore, we will investigate the alleged Fe-S clusters and their proposed interaction with Fe-cluster trafficking proteins as well as the redox regulation of D27-like proteins using RAMAN spectroscopy, native MS and structure-function interpretation. The PhD student will participate in every aspects of the projects, conducts standalone experiments related to the fields of genetics, molecular biology and enzymology/biochemistry.
Required language skills: English Further requirements: MSc in Biology, Biochemistry or Bioengineering
Experience with recombinant protein technology/protein science; plasmid construction
It is an advantage to have a prior experience in Arabidopsis genetics, molecular biology, Fe-S proteins and R p
Number of students who can be accepted: 1
Deadline for application: 2024-05-31
2024. IV. 17. ODT ülés Az ODT következő ülésére 2024. június 14-én, pénteken 10.00 órakor kerül sor a Semmelweis Egyetem Szenátusi termében (Bp. Üllői út 26. I. emelet).
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