The second seminar of this new season will be presented by Yana Kazachkova on The Bittersweet symphony: characterization of GORKY, the novel the steroidal glycoalkaloid transporter
Abstract. Steroidal glycoalkaloids are specialized metabolites present in the Solanaceae family, where they play an important role in plant defense against pathogens and herbivores. When consumed, high concentrations of steroidal glycoalkaloids in food are associated with bitter taste and burning sensation in the throat. Alpha-tomatine is the main steroidal glycoalkaloid present in tomato plants, accumulating in early stage green fruit, leaves and flower buds. However, during tomato fruit ripening α-tomatine levels drastically decrease and its entire pool is converted to hydroxylated, glycosylated and acylated non-bitter forms called esculeosides. Nevertheless, wild accessions exist, that display high levels of α-tomatine in fully ripe fruits similar to the wild tomato species. I will present the discovery of GORKY, a novel nitrate/peptide family (NPF) transporter that exports α-tomatine and other steroidal alkaloids from the vacuole to the cytosol, where they are further metabolized during fruit ripening, rendering the fruits more palatable.
When? Thursday 5th Aug 4 pm (GMT+1)
The zoom link to join the meeting is https://cuboulder.zoom.us/j/94333146166 Meeting ID: 943 3314 6166, password: Solanaceae
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