Joseph P. Noel<\/a> of the Salk Institute, has now uncovered the crucial differences between these related plant enzymes.<\/p>\nBesides illuminating molecular mechanisms of plant evolution, this study also has agricultural and nutraceutical significance. Noel and colleagues used their new knowledge to convert a chalcone synthase from alfalfa into an efficient resveratrol-producing factory, merely by changing a few amino acids (the building blocks of proteins). This biotechnological advance permits the engineering of natural resveratrol production into crop plants, via a small modification of that plant’s own chalcone synthase gene, as occurs naturally in grapes, blueberries and a few other plants. <\/p>\n
Resveratrol, a beneficial component of red wine, is thought to partly contribute to the improved cardiovascular effects associated with the moderate consumption of red wine (the “French Paradox”). Laboratory studies with resveratrol have demonstrated an impressive list of health benefits, including roles as anti-oxidants, cancer preventative agents, blood thinners, and blood pressure lowering compounds. Recently, resveratrol was shown to significantly increase life span in both fruit flies and yeast, suggesting an additional role in human diets as a promising anti-aging natural chemical. <\/p>\n
“We want to continue to explore taking what occurs naturally in plants and work toward producing this rare molecule in other crop plants,” said Noel. “Ultimately, our research could lead to producing resveratrol in a wide array of fruits and vegetables.” <\/p>\n
The impressive health benefits of resveratrol consumption are a lucky accident, however, as grapes actually produce resveratrol in order to defend against fungal invasion. Salk researchers have now deciphered the three-dimensional structure of the rare plant enzyme that creates this remarkable but rare molecule, and in the process they resolved a long-standing scientific puzzle: the crucial differences between chalcone synthases and their resveratrol-producing relatives, the much rarer stilbene synthases. <\/p>\n
Scientists realized decades ago that chalcones and stilbenes, two important classes of plant natural products with very different properties, were produced by different but closely related proteins. All higher plants possess chalcone synthase, as chalcone-derived natural chemicals fulfill a number of important biological functions in plants including roles in plant fertility, disease resistance and flower color. Conversely, production of resveratrol and other rare anti-fungal stilbenes occurs in just a few plant species, including grapevines, peanuts, blueberries and some pine trees. <\/p>\n
El Instituto Salk de Estudios Biol\u00f3gicos, ubicado en La Jolla, California, es una organizaci\u00f3n independiente sin fines de lucro dedicada a los descubrimientos fundamentales en las ciencias de la vida, la mejora de la salud y las condiciones de vida de las personas, y la formaci\u00f3n de las futuras generaciones de investigadores. El Dr. Jonas Salk fund\u00f3 el instituto en 1960 gracias a una donaci\u00f3n de terrenos por parte de la ciudad de San Diego y al apoyo financiero de la Fundaci\u00f3n March of Dimes para los Defectos Cong\u00e9nitos. <\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","faculty":[102],"disease-research":[],"class_list":["post-2255","disclosure","type-disclosure","status-publish","hentry","faculty-joseph-noel"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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