Structural Basis for Glucan Phosphatase Function in Photosynthetic Organisms

University Of Kentucky Research Foundation, Lexington KY

Investigators

Abstract

With this award, the Chemistry of Life Processes Program in the Chemistry Division is funding Dr. Craig Vander Kooi from the University of Kentucky to investigate a fundamental and as yet poorly understood aspect of carbohydrate metabolism. Plants store energy in the form of carbohydrates in starch. Starch is ideally suited to store energy, but the properties that make it able to store the energy present a barrier to releasing the energy. Plants utilize direct chemical modification of the components of starch to overcome this barrier, allowing efficient and rapid energy release. While of clear biological importance, there are key gaps in our understanding of how this takes place. The tools of structural biology and biochemistry are employed in this research to address these key questions. Understanding and controlling this modification has considerable promise as an innovative strategy to both understand the chemistry of this process in living systems and harness it to engineer and utilize starch. This project impacts training of students in both fundamental and applied research. Innovative approaches allow preparation of the next generation of highly skilled young scientists with training in cutting edge interdisciplinary research. The structural basis for the specificity and functional coupling of the members of glucan phosphatase family members are defined, elucidating the critical function of this modification. This research project utilizes high resolution X-ray crystallographic studies coupled to biochemical methodology to define the molecular enzymology of glucan phosphatases. Crystal structures determined as part of the studies will be made publicly available in the Protein DataBank (pdb.org). Structure/function studies of glucan phosphatases from diverse kingdoms of photosynthetic organisms define the shared and specific features of enzymatic activity critical for starch metabolism. Information from this study defines the structural mechanism of glucan phosphatases in diverse photosynthetic organisms and explores methods to harness this unique chemical carbohydrate modification. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.