Scientists Identify Proteins for Rubber Production

Dandelions are increasingly becoming the focus of attention of the rubber-producing industry because dandelions are robust and undemanding plants with a desirable product: rubber. How rubber is formed from the plants' white milky fluid has not been completely answered yet, but a team headed by Münster University and the Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME (Münster branch) in Germany has now identified proteins which play a key role in the production of rubber in dandelions.

The milky fluid containing the rubber is produced in special cells in the dandelion. What is responsible for the biosynthesis of rubber is a protein complex located on the surface of rubber particles filled with polyisoprene, the main component of rubber. Rubber transferase activator, a special protein, plays a key role in the formation of the rubber-producing protein complex. A second study, by researchers from IME and Münster University identifies a further important protein, which plays a key role in the formation of the long polyisoprene chains. These so-called polymers give the rubber its elasticity and resilience.

For more information, read the news article at the University of Münster website.