棟方涼介博士のセミナー

2025年7月31日、京都大学 生存圏研究所の棟方涼介博士にご講演いただきました。

NIGセミナーページ: https://www.nig.ac.jp/nig/ja/research/seminer-ja?id=1732

• 開催日: 2025/07/31
• 時間: 13:30-14:30
• 場所: 図書館3階セミナー室 / Seminar room-Library 3F
• 演者: Ryosuke Munakata (Research Institute for Sustainable Humanosphere (RISH), Kyoto University)
• 演題: Chemical arsenals of plants: Molecular basis of furanocoumarin production
• 要旨: Plants produce approximately one million metabolites, most of which are classified as specialized metabolites that are present in specific plant taxa. These metabolites generally contribute to environmental adaptation of plants., e.g., attraction of pollinators, and defense against biotic and abiotic stresses. In addition, many specialized metabolites exhibit biological activities that are beneficial and/or detrimental to human health. Therefore, understanding of how plants synthesize and accumulate specialized metabolites is important not only in plant science but also in other research fields such as agriculture and pharmacology. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain largely unknown. This seminar focuses on furanocoumarins (FCs), which are toxic to a broad spectrum of organisms, including humans, and are accumulated in agriculturally important species such as citrus in the Rutaceae family and herbs in the Apiaceae family. The Apiaceae family has two types of FCs, i.e., linear and angular FCs. These types differ in their core chemical structures. Research on chemical ecology has suggested that this chemical diversity contributes to defense against Lepidopteran insects that specifically prey on Apiaceae plants. We have identified two enzymes at the branching point between the biosynthetic pathways of the two FC types. Furthermore, mutagenesis of these enzymes and 3D modeling has suggested a catalytic mechanism crucial to the chemical diversification of FCs. I will also present unique accumulation patterns of FCs in plant organs to avoid self-intoxication and discuss the evolutionary process behind the emergence of FC production capacity in the plant kingdom. Findings on these aspects will lead to a more comprehensive understanding of how plants have developed FCs as their chemical arsenals.