Adaptive mechanisms of plant specialized metabolism connecting chemistry to function
Author(s)
Weng, Jing-Ke; Lynch, Joseph H; Matos, Jason O; Dudareva, Natalia
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As sessile organisms, plants evolved elaborate metabolic systems that produce a plethora of specialized metabolites as a means to survive challenging terrestrial environments. Decades of research have revealed the genetic and biochemical basis for a multitude of plant specialized metabolic pathways. Nevertheless, knowledge is still limited concerning the selective advantages provided by individual and collective specialized metabolites to the reproductive success of diverse host plants. Here we review the biological functions conferred by various classes of plant specialized metabolites in the context of the interaction of plants with their surrounding environment. To achieve optimal multifunctionality of diverse specialized metabolic processes, plants use various adaptive mechanisms at subcellular, cellular, tissue, organ and interspecies levels. Understanding these mechanisms and the evolutionary trajectories underlying their occurrence in nature will ultimately enable efficient bioengineering of desirable metabolic traits in chassis organisms.
Date issued
2021Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of BiologyJournal
Nature Chemical Biology
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Citation
Weng, Jing-Ke, Lynch, Joseph H, Matos, Jason O and Dudareva, Natalia. 2021. "Adaptive mechanisms of plant specialized metabolism connecting chemistry to function." Nature Chemical Biology, 17 (10).
Version: Author's final manuscript