Department of Biotechnology

Biochemistry & Glycobiology Research group

The laboratory of Biochemistry and Glycobiology focuses on several lines of complementary research that together aim to better understand plant growth and development, mainly by studying plant proteins. Using a multidisciplinary approach (plant biochemistry, molecular biotechnology, cell biology, glycobiology), novel strategies are being developed to discover new approaches that increase plant growth and increase the stress tolerance of plants in changing environmental conditions.

Our expertise ranges from protein purification and characterization, heterologous protein expression and protein interaction studies to gene expression analyses, plant transformation, analysis of plant performance under stress conditions, stress assays and advanced microscopy.

Targeted protein degradation in plants

Researcher: Hannes Vanhaeren

The way plants grow from a small seed to their final stature appeals to the imagin(A) Schematic concept of ratiometric protein stability assay, (B) Fluorescent images showing a higher turnover of the GFP-tagged protein, (C) different interactomics approaches are used to identify E3 ligases that confer ubiquitination, (D) biochemical characterization of proteins, including ubiquitination and proteolytic cleavage and (E) generation and phenotyping of transgenic plants.ation. Plants are indispensable for our daily needs. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the mechanisms that drive plant growth and development. Proteins are the main workhorses in cells as they maintain all essential processes, but controversially, their coordinated degradation is almost as crucial as their synthesis. During the last years, key regulators of protein stability have been shown to play an important role in determining plant organ size. Therefore, these genes are valuable targets to improve plant productivity. This project aims to identify and characterize proteases and E3 ligases that mediate the stability of growth regulators and hence finetune final organ size. To achieve this, we make use of modular cloning systems to develop in vivo protein degradation sensors, apply diverse protein-protein interaction methods, evaluate the effect of targeted mutations on protein stability and implement strategies to quantify cell division and plant organ size.

RNAi to boost plant tolerance to abiotic and biotic stresses

Researchers: Ana Alcobendas Garcia, Dagmar De Jonckheere, Zoë Madder, Ellen Vandenbussche

Partly in collaboration with Prof. Tina Kyndt, Prof. Kristof De SchutterRNAi

Our research group is pioneering innovative RNA interference (RNAi) delivery systems to mitigate biotic and abiotic stress in plants. Our focus is on optimizing RNAi applications for plants (Arabidopsis, tobacco, tomato, rice) and plant cells (BY-2 (tobacco) cells and PSB-D (Arabidopsis) cells. Our primary goal is to develop and evaluate different types of RNA nanocarriers that enable effective exogenous RNA uptake in plant cells. This includes rigorous testing for toxicity, uptake and safety of these nanocarriers and screening their effectiveness in enabling the downregulation of specific target genes.

Different research lines focus on:

    • designing multidomain carriers to transport double-stranded RNA into plant cells
    • modulating the RNAi response of plants under drought stress
    • targeting and reducing the stress and damage caused by the pathogen Phytophthora infestans
    • developing an RNAi-based pest control targeting Meloidogyne graminicola in rice

Importance of protein-carbohydrate interactions for plant growth and defense

Researchers: Tibo De Coninck, Koen Gistelinck, Arshad Qayyum

Partly in collaboration with Prof. Tom DesmetKey technology to study protein-carbohydrate interactions.

-          Role of stress-inducible lectins in enhancing stress tolerance in plants

Lectins are a family of carbohydrate-binding proteins that are widely distributed in the plant kingdom. They can specifically recognize and bind carbohydrate structures. We investigate the importance of lectins for plant growth and development. Understanding the protein-carbohydrate interactions that take place is important to decipher the mode of action of lectins. Our research focuses on stress-inducible lectins and their role in different plant signaling events. We aim to understand the mechanisms through which stress-inducible lectins confer stress tolerance, which can ultimately lead to innovative strategies for developing resilient crops, capable of thriving in challenging environmental conditions (such as salt and drought stress). To achieve this goal, we make use of recombinant protein production, protein characterization, mutant analyses, generating and phenotyping transgenic plants, microscopy, stress experiments, and biochemical analyses.

 

-          Two-domain proteins comprising of a glycoside hydrolase and a lectin domain

Chimerolectins are two-domain proteins are composed of a carbohydrate-binding domain (lectin) and a carbohydrate-cleaving domain (enzyme) within one protein molecule. These proteins have been identified throughout the entire plant kingdom. Our research focuses on exploring the biological role of these two-domain proteins. We aim to unravel the importance of these proteins during plant development using a plethora of different techniques, such as recombinant protein production, protein characterization, in silico modelling and docking experiments, generating and phenotyping transgenic plants, microscopy, stress experiments, and biochemical analyses.

Publications

Contact information

Please contact professor Els Van Damme for more information.