This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Lignins, lignans and isoflavonoids are major constituents of vascular plants and account for nearly 30% of the organic carbon circulating in the biosphere. This research project focuses on three enzymes that have critical roles in lignan and isoflavonoid biosynthesis. Lignans and isoflavonoids play important roles in plant defense and communication, helping hosts discriminate between biological pathogens and symbiotic non-pathogens. In addition to their physiological roles in plants, these compounds have pronounced antimicrobial, antifungal, antiviral, antioxidant and anticancer properties. Therefore, isoflavonoid and lignan are used as pharmacologicals, especially for the clinical treatment of various cancers. It is generally accepted that low cancer incidence in people with plant-based diets is due to the preventive effect of these lignans and isoflavonoids. For these reasons, there is considerable interest in making these compounds more generally available by defining and exploiting the lignan and isoflavonoid biosynthetic pathways. These approaches are seriously hampered by a lack of detailed information on the involving enzymes and by limited success in obtaining these compounds using tissue (or cell) culture. The goal of this project is to define the structure-function relationships of the critical enzymes in lignan and isoflavonoid biosynthesis through high-resolution x-ray structures. The information gained from these studies will be very useful for exploring the regulation of lignans and isoflavonoids for ecological plant protection, and industrial-scale regiospecific and stereospecific synthesi
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