{"title":"Using Synthetic Biology to Understand the Function of Plant Specialized Metabolites.","authors":"Yuechen Bai, Xinyu Liu, Ian T Baldwin","doi":"10.1146/annurev-arplant-060223-013842","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Plant specialized metabolites (PSMs) are variably distributed across taxa, tissues, and ecological contexts; this variability has inspired many theories about PSM function, which, to date, remain poorly tested because predictions have outpaced the available data. Advances in mass spectrometry-based metabolomics have enabled unbiased PSM profiling, and molecular biology techniques have produced PSM-free plants; the combination of these methods has accelerated our understanding of the complex ecological roles that PSMs play in plants. Synthetic biology techniques and workflows are producing high-value, structurally complex PSMs in quantities and purities sufficient for both medicinal and functional studies. These workflows enable the reengineering of PSM transport, externalization, structural diversity, and production in novel taxa, facilitating rigorous tests of long-standing theoretical predictions about why plants produce so many different PSMs in particular tissues and ecological contexts. Plants use their chemical prowess to solve ecological challenges, and synthetic biology workflows are accelerating our understanding of these evolved functions.</p>","PeriodicalId":8335,"journal":{"name":"Annual review of plant biology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":21.3000,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Annual review of plant biology","FirstCategoryId":"99","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-arplant-060223-013842","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2024/7/2 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"PLANT SCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Plant specialized metabolites (PSMs) are variably distributed across taxa, tissues, and ecological contexts; this variability has inspired many theories about PSM function, which, to date, remain poorly tested because predictions have outpaced the available data. Advances in mass spectrometry-based metabolomics have enabled unbiased PSM profiling, and molecular biology techniques have produced PSM-free plants; the combination of these methods has accelerated our understanding of the complex ecological roles that PSMs play in plants. Synthetic biology techniques and workflows are producing high-value, structurally complex PSMs in quantities and purities sufficient for both medicinal and functional studies. These workflows enable the reengineering of PSM transport, externalization, structural diversity, and production in novel taxa, facilitating rigorous tests of long-standing theoretical predictions about why plants produce so many different PSMs in particular tissues and ecological contexts. Plants use their chemical prowess to solve ecological challenges, and synthetic biology workflows are accelerating our understanding of these evolved functions.
期刊介绍:
The Annual Review of Plant Biology is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Annual Reviews. It has been in publication since 1950 and covers significant developments in the field of plant biology, including biochemistry and biosynthesis, genetics, genomics and molecular biology, cell differentiation, tissue, organ and whole plant events, acclimation and adaptation, and methods and model organisms. The current volume of this journal has been converted from gated to open access through Annual Reviews' Subscribe to Open program, with all articles published under a CC BY license.