Assistant Professor
Plant Cell Wall Structure
Polysaccharide Biosynthesis, Modification and Degradation
Bioactive Carbohydrates
3212 Molecular Biology Building
Dept. of Biochemistry, Biophysics & Molecular Biology
Iowa State University
Ames, IA 50011
Phone: (515) 294-6125
Email: zabotina@iastate.edu
Education
M.S., Chemistry, Kazan State University, Russia, 1982
Ph.D., Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, Institute of Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 1987
Research Interests
Cell wall is unique plant extracellular compartment which is involved in multiple cellular functions. In plants, cell walls control growth and morphogenesis, determine cell-to-cell interactions and resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. In human life, cell walls are valuable raw material for various industrial applications: wood, paper, fuel, textile, construction material, food and feed production, nutritional supplements and pharmacological agents. All these make cell wall components highly important as the source of our needs. Polysaccharides (pectin, hemicelluloses and cellulose) are the major structural components of cell walls. Therefore, knowledge about synthesis, metabolism and degradation of structural polysaccharides is a fundamental problem in improving of plant development and resistance to the environment and biomass production and its quality for industrial use.
My lab currently pursuing three major research projects in the area of carbohydrate biochemistry and molecular biology: 1) study of hemicellulose (xylan and xyloglucan) biosynthesis, 2) extraction and purification of bioactive oligosaccharides liberated during polysaccharide metabolism and their functional characterization, 3) plant modification directed toward improvements of biomass for cellulosic ethanol production.
These projects involve multiple problems and strategies: 1) analytical analysis of carbohydrate structures, 2) reverse and forward genetic strategies in identification of enzymes involved in polysaccharide biosynthesis, 3) biochemical characterization of enzymatic activities, 4) functional characterization of bioactive oligosaccharides using proteomic, genetic and biochemical approaches, 5) genetic modification of the plants using the genes involved in biosynthesis or biodegradation of cell wall polysaccharides.
Selected Publications (click for full entry)