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Professor Paul Dupree

Professor Paul Dupree is Professor in Plant Cell Biology in the Department of Biochemistry, he is Director of Studies in Natural Sciences (Biological) at Magdalene.

Plant cells change their cell wall dramatically during growth and differentiation. The Dupree Group is focused on understanding the biosynthesis and function of polysaccharide components of the plant cell wall. Despite these polysaccharides being some of the most abundant on Earth, and them having enormous nutritional, agricultural, and industrial importance, surprisingly little is known about the genes and enzymes that carry out their synthesis. The polysaccharides are synthesised by an amazing variety of enzymes in the Golgi apparatus. Crucial players in polysaccharide synthesis are sugar nucleotide transporters and glycosyltransferases in the Golgi lumen.

The major focus of our research is the biosynthesis of xylans and glucomannans in different plant species. We are studying the function of Golgi biosynthetic proteins using functional genomics. To identify candidate genes we use a combination of bioinformatic and proteomic approaches. By studying the composition of the extracellular matrix and the structural changes in specific polysaccharide components of mutant Arabidopsis plants, we are bit by bit deciphering the role of the individual proteins. Biochemical assays allow us to investigate the activities of these proteins, complementing our understanding of gene function.

Research Interests

I research plant carbohydrates, which are the most abundant biological materials on earth. Plant carbohydrates are all around us. By understanding their structure and how plants make them, my research could reduce the use of fossil fuels and plastics, replacing them with renewable and biodegradable alternatives. We aim to improve the use of wood in building construction and in manufacture of textiles, to improve dietary fibre, and to replace calorific sugars in our diet with sweet alternatives.

Selected Publications

Temple H, Phyo P, Yang W, Lyczakowski JJ, Echevarría-Poza A, Yakunin I, Parra-Rojas JP, Terrett OM, Saez-Aguayo S, Dupree R, Orellana A, Hong M, Dupree P. (2022) Golgi-localized putative S-adenosyl methionine transporters required for plant cell wall polysaccharide methylation. Nat Plants. 8(6):656-669. doi: 10.1038/s41477-022-01156-4.

Yu L, Yoshimi Y, Cresswell R, Wightman R, Lyczakowski JJ, Wilson LFL, Ishida K, Stott K, Yu X, Charalambous S, Wurman-Rodrich J, Terrett OM, Brown SP, Dupree R, Temple H, Krogh KBRM, Dupree P. (2022) Eudicot primary cell wall glucomannan is related in synthesis, structure, and function to xyloglucan. Plant Cell. 34(11):4600-4622. doi: 10.1093/plcell/koac238.

Wilson LFL, Dendooven T, Hardwick SW, Echevarría-Poza A, Tryfona T, Krogh KBRM, Chirgadze DY, Luisi BF, Logan DT, Mani K, Dupree P. (2022) The structure of EXTL3 helps to explain the different roles of bi-domain exostosins in heparan sulfate synthesis. Nat Commun. 13(1):3314. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-31048-2.

Simmons TJ, Mortimer JC, Bernardinelli OD, Pöppler AC, Brown SP, deAzevedo ER, Dupree R, Dupree P. (2016) Folding of xylan onto cellulose fibrils in plant cell walls revealed by solid-state NMR. Nat Commun. 7:13902

Related websites

Department of Biochemistry: Dupree Group