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Carbohydrates and polysaccharides
Science programme: Industrial biotechnology
Fruit acids have a strong impact on fruit taste. Vitamin C is a key health component and often a motive in consumption of fruit. Kiwifruit are unusually high in quinic acid. This compound has a defined taste impact and can be used as a chiral base in drug development and in developing health products. HortResearch is discovering the production control system of those compounds in plants.
Our scientists are:
- Identifying genes involved in, and genetic control of, biosynthesis and metabolism.
- Examining the interactions between sugars, acids and fruit-based matrices in determining sensory perception and preference.
Our team also studies polysaccharides and is currently:
- Determining which flavour and fragrance compounds are held in the plant as glycosides, and which genes are involved in this process through examination of recombinant glycosyl transferases and glycosidases.
- Identifying genes involved in determining peelability in fruit, and enzymes that modify polysaccharides for use in the food industry.
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