Abstract
About 120 glucosinolates (GSLs) are predominantly synthesized in the plant family of the Brassicaceae. GSLs are sulfur-containing secondary metabolites and their breakdown products confer e.g. resistance to herbivores and pathogens or exhibit anticarcinogenic properties in humans.
Synthesis of GSLs is tightly connected with the synthesis of amino acids in the primary metabolism, mainly methionine, phenylalanine and tryptophane.
These amino acids form the skeleton of the GSLs. Side-chain elongation, core GSL biosynthesis and side-chain modification lead to the final products of aliphatic, aromatic and indole GSLs.
Integration of transriptomic and metabolomic data of S-deprived Arabidopsis plants led to the identification of many genes in GSL biosynthesis. Intriguingly, this approach also uncovered changes of genes in primary amino acid metabolism.
We aim to unveil the impact of the primary amino acid metabolism in glucosinolate biosynthesis by characterizing candidate genes identified by coexpression analysis and metabolic profiling. Furthermore, we want to elucidate missing steps in GSL biosynthesis by this approach. Our latest results will be presented.
