DynaMo Seminar: Jonathan Gershenzon

DynaMo Semiars are a series of public seminars hosted by DNRF Center DynaMo. We are honored to be able to host this seminar:

Professor Jonathan Gershenzon

Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena
Member of DynaMo's Advisory Board

How herbivores deal with glucosinolate defenses

Plant biologists are becoming more and more interested in that fascinating group of metabolites known as glucosinolates. Insect herbivores in contrast usually make a habit of avoiding these defense compounds and have developed a variety of behavioral and metabolic adaptations to coexist with them. Jonathan Gerchenzon will describe some of his recent work on glucosinolate detoxification and sequestration processes that allow herbivores to avoid the negative effects of glucosinolates and even benefit from them.

Jonathan Gershenzon is Head of Department of Biochemistry, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany. After studying biology as an undergraduate at the University of California in Santa Cruz, Gershenzon received his PhD in botany from the University of Texas in 1984. From 1985 until 1997 he worked as a scientist at the Institute for Biological Chemistry, Washington State University in Pullman. Since 1997 he is a Director and Scientific Member at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena, Germany, where he heads the Department of Biochemistry. He was appointed Honorary Professor at Friedrich Schiller University Jena in 1999. Gershenzon studies the biochemistry of secondary plant metabolites, their mode of action on herbivores, the regulation of secondary metabolisms in plants and the evolution of pathways. Most of the work in his department focuses on glucosinolates and terpenoids. Jonathan Gershenzon also serves as member of DynaMo's Advisory Board.