Public Abstract

DE-SC0020153: Elucidating Enzyme Structure-Function To Enhance Plant Biomass Composition

Award Status: Active

Institution: University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
UEI: NNFQH1JAPEP3
PM: Brown, Katherine

Most Recent Award Date: 09/14/2026
Number of Support Periods: 7
PI: Voiniciuc, Catalin

Current Budget Period: 09/01/2026 - 08/31/2027
Current Project Period: 09/01/2026 - 08/31/2027

Public Abstract

Elucidating enzyme structure-function to enhance plant biomass composition Catalin Voiniciuc, University of Florida (Principal Investigator) Mark A. Wilson, University of Nebraska-Lincoln (Co-Investigator) Plants convert carbon dioxide into energy-rich compounds that form the basis of renewable biomass. Improving the efficiency of this process and the composition of plant biomass is critical for advancing sustainable energy solutions. This project focuses on understanding and enhancing key enzymes that control how plants allocate carbon into essential metabolites and structural polymers. The first objective examines Thi4 enzymes, which are required to produce thiamin, a cofactor central to plant carbon and energy metabolism. Most plant Thi4 metalloproteins are suicidal, requiring constant resynthesis and consuming up to 4% of a plant’s energy budget. Using the yeast OrthoRep continuous directed evolution, this project will determine how “plantized” Thi4 variants from prokaryotes function at the molecular level using structural biology and computational approaches. These enhanced bacterial enzymes will also be tested in plants, alongside cereal Thi4 enzymes (likely catalytic) to evaluate their potential to improve metabolic efficiency and biomass accumulation. Secondly, to enhance the composition of plant biomass, we will address the formation of hemicellulosic mannans, which are ubiquitous in the plant kingdom and represent a major carbon sink in some bioenergy crops. We will characterize specific glycosyltransferase (GT) enzymes that are responsible for β-mannan synthesis or substitution using yeast synthetic biology and carbohydrate biochemistry approaches followed by state-of-the-art structural techniques, including cryo-electron microscopy and/or X-ray crystallography. As for the first aim on Thi4s, insights acquired about mannan-related GTs in yeast will guide future research on the biosynthesis, structure and biophysics of mannans in plants. By uncovering the structure and function of the two important metal-binding enzyme systems, this hypothesis-driven work will provide foundational knowledge needed to design energy-efficient catalysts and to enhance biomass composition in plants.

Elucidating enzyme structure-function to enhance plant biomass composition

Catalin Voiniciuc, University of Florida (Principal Investigator)

Mark A. Wilson, University of Nebraska-Lincoln (Co-Investigator)

Plants convert carbon dioxide into energy-rich compounds that form the basis of renewable biomass. Improving the efficiency of this process and the composition of plant biomass is critical for advancing sustainable energy solutions. This project focuses on understanding and enhancing key enzymes that control how plants allocate carbon into essential metabolites and structural polymers.

The first objective examines Thi4 enzymes, which are required to produce thiamin, a cofactor central to plant carbon and energy metabolism. Most plant Thi4 metalloproteins are suicidal, requiring constant resynthesis and consuming up to 4% of a plant’s energy budget. Using the yeast OrthoRep continuous directed evolution, this project will determine how “plantized” Thi4 variants from prokaryotes function at the molecular level using structural biology and computational approaches. These enhanced bacterial enzymes will also be tested in plants, alongside cereal Thi4 enzymes (likely catalytic) to evaluate their potential to improve metabolic efficiency and biomass accumulation.

Secondly, to enhance the composition of plant biomass, we will address the formation of hemicellulosic mannans, which are ubiquitous in the plant kingdom and represent a major carbon sink in some bioenergy crops. We will characterize specific glycosyltransferase (GT) enzymes that are responsible for β-mannan synthesis or substitution using yeast synthetic biology and carbohydrate biochemistry approaches followed by state-of-the-art structural techniques, including cryo-electron microscopy and/or X-ray crystallography. As for the first aim on Thi4s, insights acquired about mannan-related GTs in yeast will guide future research on the biosynthesis, structure and biophysics of mannans in plants.

By uncovering the structure and function of the two important metal-binding enzyme systems, this hypothesis-driven work will provide foundational knowledge needed to design energy-efficient catalysts and to enhance biomass composition in plants.