Award Abstract # 1120323
Hydrolyzable Tannin Biosynthesis in Plants

NSF Org: MCB
Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences
Recipient: UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS
Initial Amendment Date: August 1, 2011
Latest Amendment Date: March 5, 2012
Award Number: 1120323
Award Instrument: Standard Grant
Program Manager: Gregory W. Warr
MCB
 Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences
BIO
 Directorate for Biological Sciences
Start Date: August 1, 2011
End Date: July 31, 2015 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount: $526,124.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date: $539,874.00
Funds Obligated to Date: FY 2011 = $526,124.00
FY 2012 = $13,750.00
History of Investigator:
  • Li Tian (Principal Investigator)
    ltian@ucdavis.edu
Recipient Sponsored Research Office: University of California-Davis
1850 RESEARCH PARK DR STE 300
DAVIS
CA  US  95618-6153
(530)754-7700
Sponsor Congressional District: 04
Primary Place of Performance: University of California-Davis
1850 RESEARCH PARK DR STE 300
DAVIS
CA  US  95618-6153
Primary Place of Performance
Congressional District:
04
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): TX2DAGQPENZ5
Parent UEI:
NSF Program(s): Systems and Synthetic Biology
Primary Program Source: 01001112DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
01001213DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
Program Reference Code(s): 1228, 7465, 9178, 9179, 9251
Program Element Code(s): 801100
Award Agency Code: 4900
Fund Agency Code: 4900
Assistance Listing Number(s): 47.074

ABSTRACT

Hydrolyzable tannins are a group of plant polyphenolic compounds that act as chemical defenses against microbes, insects and vertebrate herbivores. Hydrolyzable tannins also impact soil nutrient dynamics and affect the germination, growth and development of other plant species. Besides imparting astringent taste sensations, hydrolyzable tannins also enhance the nutritional quality of plant foods due to their antioxidant, anticancer and cardioprotective activities. Despite these important functions that hydrolyzable tannins play in plants and humans, large and significant gaps remain in our understanding of the molecular and biochemical mechanisms underlying hydrolyzable tannin biosynthesis in plants. This project will investigate the key enzymatic steps leading to hydrolyzable tannin biosynthesis using strawberry and pomegranate as model systems. Cloning of hydrolyzable tannin biosynthetic genes will facilitate modification of plant composition for improved protein utilization in forage crops. Underpinning hydrolyzable tannin biogenesis will also broaden our understanding of plant defense mechanisms, as well as plant-soil and plant-plant (allelopathic) interactions.

Broader Impacts
In addition to the scientific impacts, various aspects of the research will be used to provide multidisciplinary training opportunities, encompassing molecular biology, biochemistry, and cell biology, to high school, undergraduate, and graduate students, and postdoctoral scholars. The educational activities at the undergraduate level will be focused on three areas: providing research opportunities to new UC Davis transfer students, promoting career access among women and underrepresented minority students, and retaining students from low-income families. Another major focus of the educational activities is to prepare graduate students and postdoctoral scholars for their future independent careers in science. An outreach program is currently being developed to expose high school students to research activities and biotechnological applications through internships in the PI's laboratory.

PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH

Note:  When clicking on a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) number, you will be taken to an external site maintained by the publisher. Some full text articles may not yet be available without a charge during the embargo (administrative interval).

Some links on this page may take you to non-federal websites. Their policies may differ from this site.

Ono, N.N. and Tian, L. "The multiplicity of hairy root cultures: prolific possibilities." Plant Science , v.180 , 2011 , p.439
Ono, N.N., Bandaranayake, P.G. and Tian, L. "Establishment of pomegranate (Punica granatum) hairy root cultures for genetic interrogation of the hydrolyzable tannin biosynthetic pathway." Planta , v.236 , 2012 , p.931-941
Ono, N.N., Britton, M.T., Fass, J.N., Nicolet, C.M., Lin, D.W. and Tian, L. "Exploring the transcriptome landscape of pomegranate (Punica granatum) fruit peel for natural product biosynthetic gene and SSR marker discovery." Journal of Integrative Plant Biology , v.53 , 2011 , p.800

PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT

Disclaimer

This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.

Plants synthesize specialized chemicals that play important roles in ensuring optimal plant growth and effective defense against pathogens and predators; healthy plants can provide abundant food and medicine for human nutrition and health, as well as biomass for biofuel production. Our investigations centered on understanding how a group of specialized chemicals named hydrolyzable tannins are synthesized in plants. Although many beneficial activities have been reported for hydrolyzable tannins in animals and humans, there is a gap in our understanding of their production in plants, knowledge that is necessary for dissecting the mechanistic basis of their biological activities in mammals. Through our current research, we obtained genes involved in hydrolyzable tannin biosynthesis and demonstrated for the first time their functions in plants. Isolation of hydrolyzable tannin biosynthetic genes provides critical molecular tools for modification of hydrolyzable tannin composition and content in plants with the goal of delineating cancer suppression mechanisms of these specialized chemicals in humans or improving protein utilization in forage crops for animal consumption. Elucidation of hydrolyzable tannin biosynthesis will also broaden our understanding of general plant defense mechanisms, as well as plant-soil and plant-plant interactions. Various aspects of this research were used to provide multidisciplinary training opportunities, encompassing molecular biology, biochemistry and cell biology, to high school, undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral researchers. In addition, we focused our educational activities on promoting career access among women and underrepresented minority students, retaining students from low-income families and preparing graduate students and postdoctoral researchers for their future independent careers in science. The PI has also incorporated topics on phytonutrients and human health into her classroom curriculum and developed an outreach program that exposed high school students to research activities and biotechnological applications through internships in the PI’s laboratory.


Last Modified: 07/17/2015
Modified by: Li Tian

Please report errors in award information by writing to: awardsearch@nsf.gov.

Print this page

Back to Top of page