Principle Investigators: Prof Jens Kossmann, Prof James Lloyd,
Dr Shaun Peters and Dr Christell van der Vyver
To understand and positively influence carbohydrate partitioning in plant organs we use reverse genetic approaches to manipulate flux in specific pathways. We study the effects of these manipulations by means of high-throughput profiling of metabolites, proteins and transcripts. Most of our projects are carried out on sugarcane – to enhance sucrose accumulation. Novel approaches also focusses on water soluble carbohydrates, especially the raffinose family and their role in fundamental metabolism, performed in Arabidopsis. We also analyse plants for altered starch metabolism, specifically in potato.