Organic/CBS Seminar – Min Wang

About the event

Speaker: Min Wang

Group: Dr. ChulHee Kang

Title: Characterizing the Cytochrome P450 Monooxygenases (C4H, C3’H, F5H, F3’H, F3’5’, FNSII) in the Monolignol and the Flavonoid Pathways

Abstract: Sorghum is a US strategic plant for livestock and biofuel feedstock. The flavonoid pathway in sorghum is a metabolic pathway responsible for the biosynthesis of flavonoids, a group of secondary metabolites with various functions in plants, including pigmentation, UV protection, defense against pathogens, and antioxidant activity. Flavonoids are also important for the nutritional and health properties for human. Closely connected Monolignol pathway produces phenylpropanoids, which are polymerized to form lignin, a major structural component providing rigidity, water transport efficiency, and resistance to pathogens. Cytochrome P450 monooxygenases are essential membrane enzymes in both the monolignol (C4H, C3’H, F5H) and flavonoid (F3’H, F3’5’, FNSII) pathways. They catalyze hydroxylation and oxidative reactions, critically influencing composition and diversity of both metabolites.

The in-depth enzymatic and physicochemical characterization of those P450s, their isozymes and the redox partner reductases have various significant potentials for improving not only nutritional but also agronomic traits. In my research, recombinant DNA technology, X-ray diffraction, light scattering are used for investigating 1D, 3D and 4D structures; the UV-vis spectroscopy, the fluorescence spectroscopy, and isothermal calorimetry are used for the determination of their enzyme kinetic parameters and substrate specificity.