Abstract
Plants produce a large variety of low-molecular-weight and specialized secondary compounds. Among them, nitrogen-containing alkaloids are the most biologically active and are often used in the pharmaceutical industry. Although alkaloid chemistry has been intensively investigated, characterization of alkaloid biosynthesis, including biosynthetic enzyme genes and their regulation, especially the transcription factors involved, has been relatively delayed, since only a limited number of plant species produce these specific types of alkaloids in a tissue/cell-specific or developmental-specific manner. Recent advances in molecular biology technologies, such as RNA sequencing, co-expression analysis of transcripts and metabolites, and functional characterization of genes using recombinant technology and cutting-edge technology for metabolite identification, have enabled a more detailed characterization of alkaloid pathways. Thus, transcriptional regulation of alkaloid biosynthesis by transcription factors, such as basic helix–loop–helix (bHLH), APETALA2/ethylene-responsive factor (AP2/ERF), and WRKY, is well elucidated. In addition, jasmonate signaling, an important cue in alkaloid biosynthesis, and its cascade, interaction of transcription factors, and post-transcriptional regulation are also characterized and show cell/tissue-specific or developmental regulation. Furthermore, current sequencing technology provides more information on the genome structure of alkaloid-producing plants with large and complex genomes, for genome-wide characterization. Based on the latest information, we discuss the application of transcription factors in alkaloid engineering.
Highlights
Plants produce structurally divergent low-molecular-weight secondary metabolites to protect their bodies from the attack of pathogens and herbivores, and/or to interact with beneficial organisms, such as to attract symbiotic microorganisms and pollinators
transcription factors (TFs) are central regulators that regulate the expression of genes involved in plant developmental processes and biotic and/or abiotic stress responses
Progress in molecular biological techniques and recent advances in next-generation sequencing technologies have enabled us to perform a comprehensive analysis of TF genes and to explore regulators of alkaloid biosynthesis in several plant species
Summary
Plants produce structurally divergent low-molecular-weight secondary metabolites (recently termed as “specialized metabolites”) to protect their bodies from the attack of pathogens and herbivores, and/or to interact with beneficial organisms, such as to attract symbiotic microorganisms and pollinators. Among secondary metabolites, nitrogencontaining alkaloids found in a limited number of plant species are often more biologically active and are used as pharmaceuticals [1]. Because of the diversity of the chemical structures and biosynthetic/evolutional origins of such compounds, the elucidation of their biosynthetic pathways and regulatory mechanisms of biosynthesis has been limited to a few plant species. We focus on transcription factors (TFs) that regulate alkaloid biosynthesis in comparison with those of more universal secondary metabolites, such as phenylpropanoids and terpenoids and their potential use in alkaloid engineering
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