9729590 Chappell Plant isoprenoids comprise a structurally diverse group of compounds; some are essential for plant growth and development and others are important mediators of plant-environment interactions. For example, when attenuated pathogens are added to solanaceous plant cell cultures, the cultures cease sterol production (essential metabolite), and instead synthesize and secrete antibiotic sesquiterpenes. The decline in sterol biosynthesis has been correlated with the suppression of one key enzyme (squalene synthase), and the induction of sesquiterpene biosynthesis with the induction of another key enzyme (sesquiterpene cyclase). The PI's long range goal is to understand how this control is imposed onto these two key enzymes. The current objectives are to evaluate how two particular signal molecules might orchestrate this regulation, and to examine how several molecular mechanisms might contribute to the regulation of squalene synthase and sterol metabolism. These studies should provide important insights into how this pathway can be manipulated for enhanced value using genetic engineering technology.
