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Posted: Tuesday, April 1, 2025Chemistry Department Seminar
Dr. Xingxing Li from the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center at Michigan State University will give a research seminar on Tuesday, April 1, 2025, from 12:15 PM to 1:30 PM in SAMC 151.
Seminar Title:
From Chemistry to Function: Exploring Plant Natural Products in Switchgrass and Their Role in Sustainable Bioenergy
Abstract
Plants are remarkable chemists. They evolved the biosynthesis of a cornucopia of structurally and functionally diverse phytochemicals (a.k.a., natural products) to survive and communicate in complex environments. Cruciferous vegetables produce nitrogen- and sulfur-containing glucosinolates deterring insect herbivores; avenacin triterpene saponins accumulate in oat roots, protecting the host from the devastating fungal “take-all” disease; flavonoids secreted from legume roots initiating the rhizobium-legume nitrogen fixation symbiosis. Natural products also have pharmaceutical value, such as aspirin (willow), anti-malaria drug artemisinin (wormwood) and chemotherapy drug taxol (Pacific yew). Discovery of novel and bioactive natural products is an active and important area of biochemical research. Biomass crops have been an uncharted frontier for natural product discovery, as these small molecules have often been overlooked due to their seemingly indirect relevance to biofuel production. However, with ongoing efforts to enhance biofuel conversion efficiency and the growing emphasis on sustainable agriculture, the significance of natural products is becoming increasingly recognized. In this talk, I will present how advancements in liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) methodology have facilitated the natural product discovery in switchgrass, a key U.S. biomass crop. I will highlight the structural and functional diversity, as well as the structure-activity relationships, of saponins and diterpenoids – the two largest classes of switchgrass natural products identified to date. The potential impact of these small molecules on biofuel conversion will also be talked about.
