Seminars with Professor Thomas Vogt and Senior Researcher Hugues Renault
You are all invited to two exciting seminars with Professor Thomas Vogt from the Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry (Germany) and Senior Researcher Hugues Renault from the University of Strasbourg (France).
The seminars will take place on Zoom on August 31st at 9:00-10:30.
The presentation by Thomas Vogt has the title “Piperine and Capsaicin – the cryptic biosynthesis of pepper pungency” and starts at 9:00.
Summary of the presentation:
Piperine from black pepper and capsaicin from hot pepper share many similar and unique features. The analogies not only comprise their amide structures, their restricted accumulation in specific host species, and the comparable pungent perception of both compounds by the human vanilloid receptor, but even extend to comparable biosynthetic routes. In this seminar, recent progress on piperine and capsaicin biosynthesis and accumulation will be presented, with some emphasis on piperine and capsaicin synthases, two BAHD-like acyltransferases.
The presentation by Hugues Renault has the title “A glimpse of plant adaptation to land through the biopolymer lens” and starts at 9:45.
Summary of the presentation:
Upon their transition from water to land, pioneer plants were exposed to challenging terrestrial conditions (e.g., drought, UV). The ability to build extracellular protective barriers has most likely been a critical adaptation of land plants, as they shield cells from damaging environmental insults and allow the formation of specialized structures required for water management (e.g., cuticle). In vascular plants, these barriers are essentially comprised of four hydrophobic biopolymers – cutin, suberin, sporopollenin and lignin – that reinforce and waterproof the polysaccharide-based cell wall. The seminar shall illustrate the power of molecular genetic studies in bryophytes, a group of non-vascular plants, to elucidate the evolution and early functions of biopolymer metabolic pathways in the context of plant terrestrialization.
Please use the following Zoom-link to join the seminars: https://ucph-ku.zoom.us/j/69220935148