Dr. Jan Klein

Steroid-Signalling in plants

Steroids are a class of lipids showing the basic structure of steran. Steroids are biological active compounds of animals, fungi and plants. Plants contain brassinosteroids and a broad range of progestagens (e.g. pregnenolone and progesterone) and adrogens (e.g. testosterone and 5α-dihydrotestosterone). These steroids are important mammalian hormones but neither their biosynthesis nor their physiological function in plants is clear.

We are using molecularbiological, protein chemical and biochemical methods to clarify this in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana.