Plant genomics project to enhance production of valuable compounds

Project Overview
Plants can synthesize an immense diversity of molecules. The unparalleled biosynthetic capacity of plants has long been accessed in their use as traditional medicines and more recently the medical and commercial application of pure plant metabolites in pharmaceuticals, flavours, insecticides and other chemicals. The PhytoMetaSyn project uses genomic tools coupled with analysis of metabolic products to identify genes from over 75 plants that can catalyze the synthesis of potentially important chemical compounds. Project researchers will perform DNA sequencing to find potentially useful genes, followed by the detection of chemical products synthesized under the direction of these genes. These components will be assembled into enzymatic pathways inside yeast cells, which can then be used for the production of new biological processes with specific industrial applications.

Deliverables
Key deliverables for the initiative include:

• a catalogue of new enzymes for use as catalysts in synthetic biology applications;
• a number of functional-genomics methods for describing metabolic pathways and identifying unknown biosynthetic genes from plants;
• a public resource of genomic and metabolic information for 75 plants that produce important natural products; and,
• an analysis of regulatory, ethical and economic challenges and opportunities to ensure sound and responsible plant-technology development.

Project Partners
Genome Alberta
Genome Alberta is a not-for-profit corporation, with the mandate to lead Alberta’s efforts in genomics research and innovation. Genome Alberta provides leadership in prioritizing, coordinating, and enabling world class genomic research partnerships in order to create societal and sustainable economic benefits for Alberta and Canada. Genome Alberta interacts and connects with national and international genomics efforts as one of the six regional genomics centres in the Genome Canada context. 

Genome Canada
Genome Canada is a not-for-profit organization established in February 2000. It was given a mandate by the Government of Canada to develop and implement a national strategy for supporting large-scale genomics and proteomics research projects, for the benefit of all Canadians.

Project Leaders
Dr. Peter Facchini, Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary
Dr. Facchini is a Professor of Plant Biochemistry in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Calgary and holds the Canada Research Chair in Plant Metabolic Processes Biotechnology. He obtained his PhD from the University of Toronto in 1991 and joined the University of Calgary in 1995 after conducting research at the University of Kentucky and the Universit� de Montr�al. He is regarded as an international leader in the biochemistry and molecular and cell biology of pharmaceutical alkaloid metabolism in the opium poppy. Dr. Facchini has published more than 90 research papers. In 2003, he received the C.D. Nelson Award from the Canadian Society of Plant Physiologists as the outstanding young plant biologist in Canada.

Dr. Vincent Martin, Assistant Professor, department of Biology, Concordia University
Dr. Martin received his PhD in Microbiology from the University of British Columbia in 1999. He was a Staff Scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory from 2003 to 2004. Dr. Martin is a co-founder and past CSO of Amyris Biotechnologies, a California-based company that is developing renewable fuels for diesel and jet engine applications. He holds a Canada Research Chair in Microbial Genomics and Engineering. Dr. Martin’s research focuses on functional genomics and metabolic engineering techniques in the study of microbes normally found in the environment in order to better understand their metabolism and physiology with the purpose of using them as alternative sources for producing, cleaner, better, cheaper or even novel products.

Genomics
A genome is the complete package of genetic material for a living organism. It is one copy of the entire DNA in a cell of an organism (animal, plant or microbe) and includes both the chromosomes within the nucleus and the DNA in mitochondria. A copy of the genome is found in most cells. Genomics is the study of genes and their functions

Project Funding