The work in the Small-molecule Regulation Lab stems from our fascination with metabolites. These small molecule compounds are produced by every living organism and play many vital functions, from serving as building blocks and energy sources to regulatory to signaling. Many of the natural products we use as drugs or agrochemicals are also metabolites. Yet, the metabolomes, which are the complete set of metabolites in a biological system, are often referred to as ‘dark matter’ because the majority of the metabolites remain chemically uncharacterized. Moreover, even for the metabolites we do know, we often don’t understand their functions. Significantly, a single metabolite can have multiple roles. 

The Skirycz Lab is committed to unraveling the intricate roles of metabolites, particularly in the context of organismal health. While our primary focus is on plants, we also work with other model organisms. Recognizing that metabolites exert their effects by binding and regulating protein partners, we use diverse biochemical methods coupled with mass-spectrometry-based proteomics and metabolomics to map protein-metabolite interactomes to guide our work.