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Full-Text Articles in Plant Sciences

Genetic And Biochemical Characterization Of Ergot Alkaloid Synthesizing Fungi And Their Symbionts, Matthew Duane Maust Jan 2020

Genetic And Biochemical Characterization Of Ergot Alkaloid Synthesizing Fungi And Their Symbionts, Matthew Duane Maust

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Ergot alkaloids are fungal tryptophan derived toxins which affect mammalian circulation and neurotransmission. These compounds are biosynthesized by a conserved genetic pathway, known as the ergot alkaloid synthesis (EAS) pathway by fungi belonging to the ascomycete families Trichocomaceae and Clavicipitaceae. Several Ipomoea species and related plants in the morning glory family harbor vertically transmitted symbiotic fungi in the genus Periglandula, also members of Clavicipitaceae, that produce ergot alkaloids. Metabolomic analysis of seeds identified a previously uncharacterized glycoside form of the pharmaceutically important ergot alkaloid, ergonovine. Several species belonging to the fungal genus Metarhizium have recently been shown to have the …


Structure Of The Ambrosia Beetle (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) Mycangia Revealed Through Micro-Computed Tomography, You Li, Yongying Ruan, Matthew T. Kasson, Edward L. Stanley, Conrad P.D.T Gillett, Andrew J. Johnson, Mengna Zhang, Jiri Hulcr Jan 2018

Structure Of The Ambrosia Beetle (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) Mycangia Revealed Through Micro-Computed Tomography, You Li, Yongying Ruan, Matthew T. Kasson, Edward L. Stanley, Conrad P.D.T Gillett, Andrew J. Johnson, Mengna Zhang, Jiri Hulcr

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Ambrosia beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae and Platypodinae) rely on a symbiosis with fungi for their nutrition. Symbiotic fungi are preserved and transported in specialized storage structures called mycangia. Although pivotal in the symbiosis, mycangia have been notoriously difficult to study, given their minute size and membranous structure. We compared the application of novel visualization methods for the study of mycangia, namely micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) and laser ablation tomography (LATscan) with traditional paraffin sectioning. Micro-CT scanning has shown the greatest promise in new organ discovery, while sectioning remains the only method with sufficient resolution for cellular visualization. All three common types …


Combining Semi-Synthesis With Plant And Microbial Biocatalysis: New Frontiers In Producing A Chemical Arsenal Against Cancer†, Samuel Gary, Janet Adegboye, Brian Popp, Jean-Christophe Cocuron, Brooklyn Woodrum, Nik Kovinich Jan 2018

Combining Semi-Synthesis With Plant And Microbial Biocatalysis: New Frontiers In Producing A Chemical Arsenal Against Cancer†, Samuel Gary, Janet Adegboye, Brian Popp, Jean-Christophe Cocuron, Brooklyn Woodrum, Nik Kovinich

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Natural products (NPs) that exhibit anticancer activities are frequently not potent enough to be used clinically as therapeutics. Semi-synthesis and metabolic engineering are promising approaches for producing more efficacious derivatives of anticancer NPs (ACNPs), but each technique alone can be inefficient at obtaining specific ACNP derivatives that may be suspected to have enhanced anticancer activity. Here, we demonstrate that the methods of semi-synthesis and biocatalysis can be used as modules in succession and in different combinations to produce 6,8-dibromogenkwanin, a derivative of the ACNP apigenin. Further, we demonstrated that soybean seed coats can be used as a biocatalyst to convert …