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National Activities - UK
UK Government Funded R&D on Crops for Industrial and Energy Uses: Section 3 - Starches |
Project 3.2 Factors determining the structure of amylopectin in plant storage
organs. The aim of the work is to define the major factors that determine
the structure of amylopectin in plant storage organs. Hypotheses about the roles
of isoforms of starch synthase and starch-branching enzyme will be tested by
measurement of enzyme activities and starch structure on the storage organs of
mutant and transgenic potatoes, peas and rice with altered complements of
isoforms of these enzymes. This work will provide the foundation for rational
manipulation of amylopectin structure to create starches with new and
commercially valuable properties in crop plants. It will also create novel
starches which can be used to study the relationship between starch structure
and functionality, and which may themselves be of commercial value. Funded by
BBSRC it will be completed by 21/10/98.
Contact:
Dr Alison M Smith
Project 3.3 Moulded and recyclable structural packaging from expanded starch
cellular materials. This project establishes a production chain from the
identification of suitable sources of starch from existing crops and from
non-food quality waste (particularly cereals and potatoes) through to the
production of quality packaging materials (mouldable expanded products) from the
starch. The project involves the development and testing of suitable,
recyclable, starch products and the manufacture of appropriate processing
technologies. It will produce a new range of environmentally friendly systems
for the packaging industry which are made by clean, solvent-free processing
routes and which are recyclable or biodegradable for ultimate disposal
(composting, for example). The proposed products will meet current EU directives
and future legislation as well a reduce the usage of oil-based materials. Funded
by LINK CIU it will be completed by 31/8/98.
Contact:
Dr G Jeronomidis
Project 3.4 Prediction of starch processing potential - in relation to cereal and
POTATO production under Scottish conditions. The aim of this project is to
identify the properties of starch which confer particular technological
characteristics. This knowledge can then be used to identify plant genotypes
which produce starches appropriate to specific industrial needs and which can be
grown in environmental conditions prevalent in Scotland. Funded by SOAEFD it
will be completed by 31/3/98.
Contact:
Dr C Duffus and
Dr I Morrison
Project 3.5 Novel Polymers from starch. Starch is a major product for industrial
and food purposes. New types of starch are sought in diverse industries,
necessitating knowledge of the factors that determine starch structure. The
complex structure of a starch granule in a storage organ is derived from the
differential activity of the different isoforms of the three committed steps
invol ved in starch synthesis and the activity of degrading enzymes. Different
isoforms of starch synthase make significantly different forms of starch polymer
and different isoforms of starch branching enzyme have differing affinities for
particular glucan polymers and make differently branched products. This project
aims to study the functional significance of structural differences between
isoforms of these two enzyme types through structural studies and through the
production of chimeras. Chimeric proteins may exhibit novel biosynthetic
activities which may be used to generate novel starch polymers in transgenic
crops such as potato and barley. Funded by BBSRC/EU it will be completed by
31/1/99.
Contact:
Dr Cathie Martin
Project 3.6 Starch synthesis in developing plant storage organs Because of its
ability to form pastes, gels, films and plastics, starch is a major raw material
for many food and non-food industries. There is great interest from farmers,
breeders and the starch industry in engineering crops to produce starches with
novel physical properties. This increases the value of the crop, reduces the
need for post-extraction modification of physical properties and provides new
raw materials for industry. The project elucidates the mechanism of synthesis of
starch in crop plants. In a mutidisciplinary approach using biochemical chemical
genetic and molecular biological methods, antibodies and genes for enzymes of
starch synthesis are being used in conjunction with mutant plants with altered
starches and reconstituted starch synthesising systems to study the relationship
between the nature of starch synthesising enzymes, the rate of starch synthesis
and the detailed structure of starch. Funded by BBSRC it will be completed by
31/3/2000.
Contact:
Dr Alison M Smith
Project 3.7 Structure-function relationships of starch synthases The key factor
in determining the structure of starch and hence the physico chemical properties
that determine its industrial usefulness, is the nature of the starch
synthesising enzymes in the plant. This multidisciplinary, collaborative project
examines the role of isoforms of starch synthase, arguably the most important
enzyme in determining starch structure. Genes encoding different isoforms
believed to play different roles in determining starch structure have been
cloned from pea embryos. These genes and mutated versions that encode novel
isoforms with altered properties are being expressed in tubers of potato.
Examination of the behaviour of the pea isoforms and their effects on starch
structure in normal tubers and in tubers of mutant plants that lack specific
endogenous isoforms of starch synthase reveals the role of the isoforms in
starch synthesis. Funded by BBSRC/EU it will be completed by 31/12/2000.
Contact:
Dr Alison M Smith
Project 3.8 Investigation of the mechanism of synthesis of starch polymers. The
aim of this project is provide information required for the creation of
high-value speciality starches in crop plants. An ability to generate novel and
useful variation in starch structure in crops would reduce the expense and
hazard involved in post-extraction chemical modification of starches, open up
new uses for starch, and give added value to starch crops. However, although
genetic manipulation of starch crops is possible our lack of understanding of
the mechanisms that determine starch structure make it impossible to predict
which manipulations will result in useful modifications of starch. Our project
will overcome this problem through the use of a simple system - the bacterium
Escherichia coli - in which the enzymes of starch synthesis can be expressed and
studies in detail, in isolation from the complexity of the plant. Funded by
BBSRC it will be completed by 1/7/98.
Contact:
Dr Alison M Smith and
Dr Cathie Martin
Project 3.9 Importance of malto-oligosaccharides in the synthesis of starch. We
propose to exploit our recent discovery that maltooligosaccharides (Mos) are
required for the synthesis of the amylose component of starch. First, the Mos
content of potato tubers will be lowered by expression of a yeast alpha
-glucosidase. This is expected to result in a low-amylose starch, in which the
isoform of starch synthase normally responsible for amylose synthesis (GBSSI)
instead elongates amylopectin chains. The functional properties of this starch
are predicted to be intermediate between those of wild-type and waxy starches.
Second, the nature of the effect of Mos on GBSSI will be elucidated, and the
location of GBSSI within starch granules will be defined. The project will
deliver new, basic knowledge about the determination of starch structure and
functionality, and novel starches which are likely to be of direct commercial
value. Funded by BBSRC it will be completed by 5/5/2000.
Contact:
Dr Alison M Smith and
Dr Cathie Martin
Project 3.10 Direct determination of the molecular organisation of amylose and
amylopectin in native starch granules. This project seeks to fill an
important gap in knowledge by determining, through direct methods, the location
and molecular arrangements of both amylopectin and amylose in starch granules,
initially from a limited range of starches of different origin and composition.
This will be achieved using novel methods of enzyme cytochemistry together with
high resolution transmission electron microscopy. The research will provide
information that is currently completely unavailable and yet which is crucial in
contributing to a better understanding of the relationship between the structure
of starch granules from different sources and starch functionality in its many
diverse industrial applications. Funded by BBSRC it will be completed by 1/4/97.
Contact: A.W. Robards, Department of Biology, University of York.
Project 3.11 Understanding nitrogen and carbohydrate metabolism for legume
engineering This project which includes genetics, biochemistry, molecular
biology and studies of seed development and metabolism aims to provide
regulatory elements to enable expression of transgenes in a regulated fashion in
seeds and to examine the relationship between protein synthesis/gene expression
and carbohydrate metabolism in mutant and transgenic legumes in which
carbohydrate metabolism has been perturbed. Such grain legumes will have
modified seed composition/quality. The regulatory elements will enable
alterations in seed composition of transgenic plants eventually including the
production of new compounds for industry. Funded by BBSRC it will be completed
by 31/12/97.
Contact:
Dr R Casey
Project 3.12 The structure and synthesis of carbohydrates in legume seeds The
physical and chemical properties of starches are important because they
determine the range of industrial uses of starch and also affect their
digestibility and nutritional status. Starch is the major storage carbohydrate
in pea seeds; in this multidisciplinary project, naturally-occurring and induced
mutants have been used to manipulate the amounts and types of pea starch. The
novel starches thus generated have physicochemical properties that are of
industrial significance. Some mutants in which starch synthesis has been
perturbed contain high levels of soluble seed carbohydrates, including
raffinose-related a-galactosides. Such sugars may play an important role in
protecting seeds against the stress of natural desiccation, but also can act as
antinutritional factors in human diets, causing problems with digestion. This
project studies the genetic and environmental control of these important
compounds with the aim of obtaining the appropriate spectrum of soluble sugars
for protection against stress and optimal digestibility. The project employs
genetics, biochemistry, molecular biology, physical chemical and nutritional
studies to achieve its aims. Funded by SCB it will be completed by 30/4/98.
Contact:
C.L. Hedley
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