Structural genomics of cancer‐preventive phenylpropanoid biosynthetic pathway enzymes

Lignans and isoflavonoids are major constituents of vascular plants and play important roles in plant defense, helping hosts discriminate between biological pathogens and symbiotic non‐pathogens. In addition to their physiological roles in plants, these compounds have pronounced antimicrobial, antifungal, antiviral, antioxidant and anticancer properties. It is generally accepted that low cancer incidence rates in people with specific plant‐based diets is due to the so‐called chemopreventive effects of particular lignans and isoflavonoids. For these reasons, there is considerable interest in making these compounds more generally available by defining and exploiting the lignan and isoflavonoid biosynthetic pathways. The goal of this project is thus to define the structure‐function relationships of these key proteins and enzymes in lignan and isoflavonoid biosynthesis through high‐resolution X‐ray structural analyses. The information gained from these studies will be very useful for exploring the regulation of lignan and isoflavonoid biosynthesis for ecological plant protection, and for the industrial‐scale regiospecific and stereospecific synthesis of these pharmacologically active substances.