Jörg Schwender

Brookhaven National Laboratory
Bldg. 463 - P.O. Box 5000
Upton, NY 11973-5000

Background

   Seeds provide most of the dietary calories consumed in the world and are the major economic value of agricultural crops. In order to rationally engineer the storage products of seeds (oil, protein and starch) we need to understand the fluxes through the network of core metabolism. Studies on gene expression patterns and the enzymes present during seed development are able to provide the "parts list" available to carry out metabolism but are short of being able to quantitatively define the in vivo conversion rates of enzymes. Therefore a main interest of my research is the advancement of methods for the analysis of the central carbon metabolism network in plants in particular using stable-isotope labeling. Metabolic flux analysis (MFA) by this approach has been important in understanding and engineering the metabolism of microorganisms in recent years, and it should be of increasing importance in plant research in the near future.

Research Interests

   My research is focused on metabolic flux analysis and pathway analysis in plants by employing labeling experiments, mathematical models and computer simulation to describe and analyze metabolism quantitatively. In particular I use steady-state stable isotope labeling to determine flux ratios through branch points of metabolism. Brassica napus Embryos are labeled with a variety of 13C-labeled precursors and individual C-atoms are traced through the metabolic network by analyzing the label in metabolites and end products by GC/MS and NMR. This methodology can investigate fluxes in vivo in systems unperturbed by cell disruption, mutation or transgenes. A particular challenge in plants is the sub-cellular compartmentation of enzymes and substrates.

Published Books

• Plant Metabolic Networks
  Schwender, Jörg (Ed.)
  2009, X, 390 p. 13 illus., 11 in color., Hardcover ISBN: 978-0-387-78744-2

Selected Publications

• Lonien J., and Schwender J.
  Analysis of metabolic flux phenotypes for two Arabidopsis thaliana mutants with severe impairment in seed storage lipid synthesis.
  Plant Physiology, 151(3):1617-1634 (2009).  PubMed  Plant Physiology
• Schwender J.
  Metabolic flux analysis as a tool in metabolic engineering of plants.
  Curr. Opin. Biotechnol., 19(2):131-137 (2008).  PubMed
• Junker B.H., Lonien J., Heady L.E., Rogers A. and Schwender J.
  Parallel determination of enzyme activities and in vivo fluxes in Brassica napus embryos grown on organic or inorganic nitrogen source.
  Phytochemistry, 68(16-18):2232-2242 (2007).  PubMed

• Schwender J., Shachar-Hill Y. and Ohlrogge, J.B.
  Mitochondrial metabolism in developing embryos of Brassica napus.
  J Biol Chem., 281:34040-34047 (2006).   PubMed  
  See also:
    J Biol Chem of November 10, (2006).   Paper of the Week
• Goffman F.D., Alonso A.P., Schwender J., Shachar-Hill Y. and Ohlrogge, J.B.
  Light enables a very high efficiency of carbon storage in developing embryos of rapeseed.
  Plant Physiol., 138(4):2269-2279 (2005).   PubMed   Full Text
• Ruuska S.A., Schwender J. and Ohlrogge J.B.
  The capacity of green oilseeds to utilize photosynthesis to drive biosynthetic processes.
  Plant Physiol., 136(1):2700-2709 (2004).   PubMed   Full Text
• Schwender J., Goffman F., Ohlrogge J.B. and Shachar-Hill Y.
  Rubisco without the Calvin cycle improves the carbon efficiency of developing green seeds.
  Nature, 432:779-782 (2004).   PubMed
  See also:
     CH Surridge, Nature News and Views:
     Plant biochemistry: Green catalytic converter.
     Nature, 432:684 (2004).   PubMed
• Schwender J., Ohlrogge J.B. and Shachar-Hill Y.
  Understanding flux in plant metabolic networks.
  Curr Opin Plant Biol., 7(3):309-317 (2004).   PubMed
• Schwender J., Ohlrogge J.B. and Shachar-Hill Y.
  A flux model of glycolysis and oxidative pentosephosphate pathway in developing Brassica napus embryos.
  J Biol Chem., 278(32):29442-29453 (2003).   PubMed   Full Text
• Schwender J. and Ohlrogge J.B.
  Probing in vivo metabolism by stable isotope labeling of storage lipids and proteins in developing Brassica napus embryos.
  Plant Physiol., 130(1):347-361 (2002).   PubMed   Full Text

Last Modified: November 18, 2009
Please forward all questions about this site to: Denise Monteleone

One of ten national laboratories overseen and primarily funded by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Brookhaven National Laboratory conducts research in the physical, biomedical, and environmental sciences, as well as in energy technologies and national security. Brookhaven Lab also builds and operates major scientific facilities available to university, industry and government researchers. Brookhaven is operated and managed for DOE's Office of Science by Brookhaven Science Associates, a limited-liability company founded by Stony Brook University, the largest academic user of Laboratory facilities, and Battelle, a nonprofit, applied science and technology organization.

Privacy and Security Notice  | Contact Web Services for help