Plant protein glycosylation

Richard Strasser (Wien): Protein glycosylation is an essential co- and post-translational modification of secre-tory and membrane proteins in all eukaryotes. The initial steps of N-glycosylation and N-glycan processing are highly conserved between plants, mammals and yeast. In contrast, late N-glycan maturation steps in the Golgi differ significantly in plants giving rise to complex N-glycans. While the essential role of N-glycan modifi-cations on distinct mammalian glycoproteins is already well documented, we have only begun to decipher the biological function of this ubiquitous protein modification in different plant species. In this seminar, I will summarize our recent efforts towards a better understanding of protein glycosylation in plants and highlight approaches to engineer these pathways in order to produce recombinant glycoproteins for thera-peutic use in humans.