Amino acid biosynthesis comprises a central role in all cells' biochemistry. While amino acid metabolism has been well-studied and shown to have variations in many organisms, these metabolic pathways have not been experimentally investigated in red algae. The economically important genus of the red algal Porphyra species promises to provide an expanded view of basic metabolic activities conserved in red plants. While the genome of P. umbilicalis is currently being sequenced, diverse transcriptome libraries, which represent the mRNAs expressed in Porphyra during different growth conditions, are available for analysis. The mRNA data is being used to query for the presence of amino acid metabolism genes in Porphyra and may reveal alternate metabolic steps or biochemical reactions than those expected in plants. Identified proteins of interest that may be involved in alternate metabolic reactions will be characterized in order to expand our understanding of amino acid metabolism in red plants.

Survey of amino acid metabolism in <i>Porphyra</i> species

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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Survey of amino acid metabolism in Porphyra species