Evolution-Guided Engineering of Plant Aromatic Metabolism
Presented by Hiroshi Maeda
Professor, Department of Biology
University of Wisconsin - Madison
Room 105 Cargill at 1:00 PM

Plants synthesize a vast array of chemicals that are essential for life on Earth, including humans. The underlying plant metabolic network is highly complex and expanded far beyond primary metabolism to diverse specialized metabolic pathways. Yet, little is known how distinct metabolic networks evolved and function in different plants. The Maeda lab conducts phylogenomics, metabolomics, biochemical, and genetic analyses across various plant groups to elucidate evolutionary history of lineage-specific metabolic enzymes, pathways, and networks. This seminar will present how tyrosine-derived specialized metabolism expanded in Caryophyllales and how the dual lignin metabolic network uniquely evolved in grasses and its close relatives. The obtained evolutionary insights further guide us to redesign plant metabolism for sustainable and efficient production of chemicals by selecting ideal plant chassis. Our recent crop engineering efforts to produce natural red pigments and aromatic chemicals in soybean and sorghum, respectively, will also be discussed.

Maeda lab website

Quentin Dudley, Assistant Professor
Dept. of Chemical and Biological Engineering
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Dudley lab website
Hosted by Dan Voytas

Friday, Oct. 23rd, 2026
Room 105 Cargill 
1:00 PM 

Shengsong Guo (PhD Candidate)
Feng Zhang lab
University of Minnesota

Friday, Nov. 13th, 2026
Room 105 Cargill 
1:00 PM 

Alina Smolskaya (MS Candidate) & Bella Fiore (PhD Candidate)
Aaron Lorenz / Bob Stupar labs
University of Minnesota

Friday, Dec. 4th, 2026
Room 105 Cargill 
1:00 PM