- Biochemistry, biology and biotechnology potential of plant aspartic proteases (APs)
Proteases exert critical roles in different plant developmental processes as well as stress responses. However, our understanding of this full protease web is still in its infancy. Identification of native substrates (degradomes), correlation of processing events with biological processes and a better understanding of structure-function relationships are, therefore, crucial tasks to understand the role of proteases in plant biology. Our work focuses on aspartic proteases (APs), the second largest class of plant proteases. Recent studies implicate APs as important players in developmental processes/stress responses. Based on the huge potential of system-wide proteomic approaches, our goal is to generate an integrated platform on proteases, their substrates, and their function – thereby enabling the elucidation of the biological roles of APs in plants.
On-going activities in the laboratory include heterologous expression, biochemical, structural and functional characterization of a selected group of atypical as well as classical plant APs, combined with state-of-the-art high-throughput proteomics approaches to outline their specificity profiles and substrate repertoire (degradome).
Supported b
y an extended knowledge on cardosins – APs responsible for the milk-clotting activity of Cynara cardunculus flowers aqueous extracts used as coagulants in cheese production – we have been also working in the development of a fermentation-derived engineered form of cardosin with potential for scalability of production and commercial applications.