Research Mission

Research mission

The large manifold of plant species is reflected in the enormous diversity of their natural products. This content of natural compounds is made more complex by the change in metabolite patterns during development as well as when a plant is responding to its environment. Knowledge of structure and function of natural products is requisite to understanding plant diversity, developmental and adaptation processes. New resources can then become available for innovative application in plant production, plant protection, biotechnology and in the development of biologically active compounds. Furthermore, together with the growing gain in knowledge available from plant genome research, this information is of fundamental importance to functional genome analysis.

The comprehensive analysis of plant and fungal natural products is a priority in the research mission of the Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry. An interdepartmental competence group develops and applies suitable analytical methods for a qualitative and quantitative analysis of natural products in biological materials. This forms the basis for investigation of function and biosynthesis of natural products and for discovering new biologically active compounds. Structure analysis, synthesis and derivatization of natural products contribute to an understanding of their function and to an increase in their structural diversity. Subsequent identification and isolation of biosynthetic enzymes can provide access to the encoding genes, which in turn enables study of the regulation of the biosynthesis and of the cellular and organismic organization of its components.

The genetic determination of plant development and its modulation during environmental adaptation rely on receptor-mediated perception of endogenous signals or biotic and abiotic environmental factors. The different signals are evaluated, compared and converted into physiological responses via altered gene expression patterns that are controlled by cellular and systemic signal transduction networks. The physiological responses are usually based on transiently and locally altered profiles of natural products. Molecular interactions form the basis of the cellular functions responsible for these processes. An interdisciplinary analysis of these interactions is therefore of central importance to the research mission of the Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry. Receptor-ligand, enzyme-substrate and protein-protein interactions form the molecular principle of these processes and have application in the development of new biologically active agents. From this perspective, the mechanisms of communication between plants and their symbionts and pathogens are investigated as are biosynthetic pathways and signal transduction networks. Interdepartmental cooperation includes transcriptomic and proteomic approaches, but supports also the development of novel cell biological methods for the analysis of the dynamics of molecular interactions in the life organism. Chemical structures of the interacting components are modified using gene technological methods, directed evolution and chemical derivatization. The effects of these changes can be monitored in model systems or with activity screens until a molecule with the desired characteristic (e.g. a drug, signal compound or an enzyme) is achieved. The development of new syntheses, screening tests, assays and analytical methods is supported by visualization of molecular interactions via computer modeling.

The tight combination of natural product chemical, biochemical, molecular and cell biological approaches allows new access to gene function analysis, the third research priority of the Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry. In the frame of a comprehensive research concept of functional genome analysis that is based on transcriptome, proteome and metabolome data, genes are identified and characterized, which are essential for plant development and environmental adaptation. The use of mutants and transgenic plants makes the direct analysis of gene functions possible and allows the generation of model plants with altered patterns of natural products, with novel health promoting compounds or plants adapted to specific sites or environmental conditions. Such plants will be beneficial for sustained production of valuable substances and biocatalysts, for use as biological indicators and for plant breeding.

A nexus of natural product research and the study of molecular interactions is storage and evaluation of the large amount of data that is generated. In particular, high throughput processes used in metabolome and proteome analysis and in the production of combinatorial libraries make necessary the development of new methods in information technology. To this end, a new junior group in information technology has been established at the Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry. Together with the Research Group Computational Chemistry this forms a new research priority that will be extended towards an interdepartmental competence area. This priority aims at the integral linkage and analysis of structurally diverse data sets generated within the other research areas towards a better understanding of the biological system of plants.