Allosteric regulation of sucrose metabolism in sugarcane

• Grant number: 11/16450-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: March 01, 2012
• End date: November 30, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Genetics - Plant Genetics
• Principal Investigator: Renato Vicentini dos Santos
• Grantee: Elton Aparecido de Melo
• Host Institution: Centro de Biologia Molecular e Engenharia Genética (CBMEG). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 08/58031-0 - Sugarcane energetic balance: a systems approach towards understanding regulation of sucrose metabolism and sugar signaling, AP.BIOEN.JP

Abstract

The sugarcane has a high economic importance in Brazil mainly due to its high efficiency in converting photosynthetic energy into sugars and fibers. Sucrose is the main sugar in vascular plants and is found in all plants, usually in high concentrations. Sucrose is translocated and stored in cell vacuoles and is not metabolized until needed. The synthesis of sucrose in plants depends on processes that involve a lot of specific enzymes and allosteric mechanisms that regulate proteins activity during physiological processes. Therefore, this project aims to investigate the mechanisms involved in allosteric regulation of the sucrose metabolism in sugarcane, and trying to integrate this type of regulation into gene regulatory networks currently in development.