Jacob is interested in how plants sense iron and regulate their response to iron deficiency.
His research focus is the hemerythrin E3 ubiquitin ligases BRUTUS (BTS) and BRUTUS-like (BTSL) proteins.
Using a combination of structural and spectroscopic methods, Jacob aims to understand how the N-terminal hemerythrin domains interact with the E3 ligase domain of the protein under different biochemical stimuli, and then observe how these interactions correspond to the protein’s function within the plant.