報告題目🕺🏿：Plant Cell Culture Biotechnology Platform for Small Molecular Drugs and TCM Innovation

報 告  人：Prof. Wei Zhang

報告時間：6-27（周五）下午3：00

報告地點：閔行校區生物藥學樓2號樓116

聯 系  人👰🏻‍♀️：秦浩(鐘建江課題組)15102117615

摘要♙：Plant cell culture-based bioprocessing technology– is to use the biosynthetic pathways of plant cells/tissues for the production of useful metabolites (large and small molecules) and biotransformation for pharmaceutical and industrial applications. This technology is particularly valuable in the production of plant-derived pharmaceutical compounds, such as taxol that are very difficult and expensive to produce from wild-harvesting or field-grown plant materials, or through chemical synthetic process. In terms of traditional Chinese medicines (TCM), this technology could make significant contributions to produce active fractions for fraction-based TCM and new active compounds for new herbal medicines through metabolic engineering and process engineering manipulation. Despite a world-wide effort over 50 years, “potential” is still the most frequent word used to describe this technology as yet with very limited commercial success.

To advance our knowledge and tools in translating “potential” into “commercial success”, the present presentation will discuss a new strategy – a molecular bioprocessing approach focusing on the characterization and manipulation of post-biosynthetic pathways (compartmentalization, transport, storage, catabolism/degradation and secretion etc) to improve the yield and productivity of plant-derive secondary metabolites of pharmaceutical interest. The presentation will use three case studies of Glycyrrhiza sp cell culture for production of new herbal materials, resveratrol production by Vitis vinifera cell culture and taxane production by Taxus sp cell culture to demonstrate the potential of this novel strategy and technology platform from laboratory to pilot-scale production. It is envisaged that this novel technology platform would contribute to not only the production of active fractions and compounds for TCM, but very importantly for the development of a new generation of medicinal plant cell-based medicines.

報告人簡介：

Professor Wei Zhang, a Biochemical Engineer since 1989, is an expert in bioprocess engineering, marine bioproducts engineering, and industrial and pharmaceutical biotechnology including, marine bioprocessing, molecular and integrated bioprocessing, microalgal biofuels and biorefinery, bioproduct discovery and development, membrane bioreactor, fermentation, plant and animal cell culture. He obtained his PhD from Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, CAS in 1994, and did postdoctoral fellowships in University of Tokyo, Adelaide University and Cambridge University, joining Flinders University in 1998. Since 2000, he has secured many national and international grants of over A$17.8 million for 40 research projects, including large microalgae biorefinery projects focused on biofuels and high-efficiency bioprocessing technologies, and also projects on macroalgae biodiscovery and bioproducts. He has developed the Chinese first industry plant cell culture platform for production of plant-derived pharmaceutical compounds and active fraction for TCM. He has over 270 refereed publications and conference proceedings, 25 patents, and is an editorial member of three International Journals- Biotechnology Letters, Process Biochemistry, and Biofuels. He has organized and co-organized many international conferences, including co-chairing the 13th International Biotechnology Symposium, with over 2500 participants from 80 countries.  In 2008 he won the “South Australia Young Tall Poppy Science Award”. Since 2009, he became the founding Director of the Flinders Centre for Marine Bioproducts Development, leading the development of Australia-New New Zealand Marine Biotechnology Network.