BIO SEMINAR:Regulation of fatty acid β-oxidation: a potential target for biotechnology and agriculture applications

Peroxisomes are essential eukaryotic organelles involved in fatty acid β-oxidation, biosynthesis of membrane phospholipids, reactive oxygen species metabolism, photorespiration, and stress resistance. Employing peroxisomes for biotechnological and agricultural applications is attracting more attention, for instance, peroxisomes can be harnessed to integrate new metabolic pathways to gain new functions such as the production of important terpenes and biodegradable polymers. Peroxisomes are the sole organelles that harbour peroxisomal β-oxidation enzymes and therefore, are suggested to be a potential metabolic engineering target to improve plant oil yield and quality. In this context, we have performed multi-omics approaches in plants of wild type and β-oxidation mutants and identified multiple significantly differentiated proteins, phosphoproteins, and transcripts. Two lipid droplet-associated proteins were among the most significant phosphorylated proteins, including the major lipase SDP1. Bearing in mind that SDP1 is targeting both peroxisome and oil body membranes, these phospho-events are potentially involved in the peroxisome-oil body feedback mechanism that is expected to be activated during early development and oil filling in developing seeds. These facts prompted us to investigate this further and discover the impact of phosphorylation on SDP1 function. We then deduced approaches to demote or promote SDP1 function, which will be ideal tools to help control/improve not only germination but also oil yield in seed crops. 

With a multidisciplinary background in plant molecular biology, biochemistry, and biotechnology, his work centers on the metabolic engineering of plant organelles, particularly peroxisomes, to enhance seed oil yield and stress resilience. Dr. Kataya has published on plant signaling, lipid and energy metabolism, and plant-pathogen interactions. His research has direct biotechnological applications in crops such as Brassica napus, pennycress, and wheat.