Tag: specialized metabolites

Withania somnifera (ashwagandha) is popularly known for its most prominent bioactive compound called withanolide. This natural product has enormous medicinal potential and has traditionally been used in the Indian Ayurvedic system for more than 3000 years to treat various illnesses. However, the industrial…

For more than two centuries, quinine from Cinchona bark has stood as one of the best-known plant-derived medicines for malaria treatment, but the enzymes that build its distinctive scaffold were unknown. Lombe et al. have now resolved the core logic of cinchona alkaloid biosynthesis in Cinchona pubescens,…

I’d never thought about the fact that there are two distinct types of epidermal-derived secretory structures, both mainly involved in stress responses and defense. Glandular trichomes (GTs) are well known structures that protrude outwards, but they are joined by subcutaneous secretory cavities (SCs)…

Paclitaxel (sold as Taxol) is taxane diterpene natural product of yew trees (Taxus spp.)  and a potent stabilizer of microtubules that is effective in treatment of cancers. However, it has proven difficult to elucidate its biosynthetic pathway, and commercial production still relies on extracting an…

Although clusters of functionally related genes are common in prokaryotes, until recently it was thought that they were not a feature of eukaryotic genomes. However, several studies have identified biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) in plants. Many of these gene clusters include sets of enzymes that act…

Phytochemicals, also known as plant secondary metabolites, play primary roles in plant development, structure, and response to the environment. Their metabolism has been studied for over a century. In a new review, Dixon and Dickinson discuss past and recent advances in understanding the identity, localization,…

Benzoxazinoids (BXs) are alkaloid specialized metabolites produced by important crops like maize. Their role in shaping the root and rhizosphere microbiomes and in plant defense against pest and pathogens is well known, although the mechanism remains unknown. One of the major BXs produced by maize is…