01.23.2018// Tariq Akhtar, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Guelph

Plant Polyisoprenoids – Secondary metabolites or physiologically important superlipids?

Since the accidental discovery of polyisoprenoids in cellulose pulp extracts almost 60 years ago, the widespread occurrence of these compounds has been reported throughout the plant kingdom.   Yet, questions still remain about how plant polyisoprenoids are synthesized, where they reside in the cell and what functional role they serve.  This seminar will highlight some of our most recent findings about this historically enigmatic class of plant compounds and present evidence for a more evolutionary conserved role for polyisoprenoids than previously thought.

11:30-12:30 BioSci Rm. 3110
And Free Lunch Meet & Greet 12:30-1:30 in BioSci 3rd floor lunch room (Rm 3406)