Important Plant Enzymes Identified

When the Brookhaven team "tagged" the isoflavonoid-synthesis enzyme with a green fluorescence protein, they were surprised to find the tagged enzyme localized in the plant cell nucleus (a). This is different from the commonly observed distribution pattern of other enzymes in the same family (c), implicating a potential unexplored biological function of the enzyme in the nucleus. When the protein was shortened, nuclear localization was impaired (b), yielding a different distribution pattern (d). Credit: Brookhaven National Laboratory
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Important Plant Enzymes Identified

May 23, 2008 | User rating: 4.8 / 5 after 4 vote(s)
Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory have identified enzymes important in the modification of isoflavonoids, natural plant products that help plants resist fungal infections, and may have beneficial health effects for humans as well. The research, which will be published online May 22, 2008, in The Plant Journal, may pave the way for implanting the isoflavonoid-synthesis pathway into bioenergy crops to promote disease resistance and thereby prevent yield losses, and/or to enhance the production of other useful chemical feedstocks.
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