Anya Lillemor Lindström Battle, Lee James Sweetlove
{"title":"Bryophytes as metabolic engineering platforms","authors":"Anya Lillemor Lindström Battle, Lee James Sweetlove","doi":"10.1016/j.pbi.2025.102702","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pbi.2025.102702","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Metabolic engineering of plants offers significant advantages over many microbial systems such as cost-effective scalability and carbon autotrophy. Bryophytes have emerged as promising testbeds for plant metabolic engineering due to their rapid transformation and haploid-dominant lifecycle. The liverwort <em>Marchantia polymorpha</em> and the moss <em>Physcomitrium patens</em> are the best studied bryophytes and an expanding toolkit of genetic resources for both species allows for efficient pathway engineering. Bryophyte metabolism, while broadly conserved with seed plants, exhibits distinct features such as high diversity and amounts of terpenoids and very long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (vlcPFAs). In this review, we summarise the relatively limited understanding of bryophyte metabolism and how it diverges from seed plants. We argue that the success of bryophytes as testbed species will require new quantitative knowledge of fluxes in central metabolism and especially those that facilitate high rates of terpenoid and vlcPFA biosynthesis.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11003,"journal":{"name":"Current opinion in plant biology","volume":"85 ","pages":"Article 102702"},"PeriodicalIF":8.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143673254","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Not just flavor: Insights into the metabolism of tea plants","authors":"Deyuan Jiang , Weiwei Wen","doi":"10.1016/j.pbi.2025.102716","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pbi.2025.102716","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Tea, one of the world's most popular beverages, boasts a rich cultural history and distinctive flavor profiles. With advances in genomics and plant metabolism research, significant progress has been made in understanding the biosynthetic pathways and the underlying regulatory mechanisms of tea plants (<em>Camellia sinensis</em>). Tea metabolites play a pivotal role in determining tea flavor, and functional properties, while also being closely tied to the plant's stress resistance, environmental adaptability, and other newly discovered biological functions. In recent years, research has expanded beyond the well-characterized metabolites, such as catechins, <span>l</span>-theanine, and caffeine, to include volatile compounds, hormones, photosynthetic pigments, lignin, and other recently discovered metabolites, shedding new light on the intricate tea plant metabolism. This review highlights the biosynthetic pathways and regulatory mechanisms of key metabolites in tea plants, with a focus on the critical enzyme genes and regulatory factors. Additionally, emerging technologies and methodologies applied in tea plant metabolism research are briefly introduced. By further exploring the biological functions of tea metabolites and their upstream regulatory networks, future studies may offer theoretical insights and technological support for tea plant cultivation, tea quality improvement, and the sustainable development of the tea industry.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11003,"journal":{"name":"Current opinion in plant biology","volume":"85 ","pages":"Article 102716"},"PeriodicalIF":8.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143777268","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Joohyun Kang , Kyungyoon Kim , Jooyeon Woo , Thanh Ha Thi Do , Yuree Lee
{"title":"Recent insights into air space formation in plant shoots","authors":"Joohyun Kang , Kyungyoon Kim , Jooyeon Woo , Thanh Ha Thi Do , Yuree Lee","doi":"10.1016/j.pbi.2025.102725","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pbi.2025.102725","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>An adequate supply of oxygen and carbon dioxide is essential for plant survival. Although plant cell walls are somewhat porous, their hydrated nature hampers gas diffusion. Furthermore, the cuticular wax coating the epidermal layer of aerial tissues strongly inhibits gas exchange. Because plants lack specialized systems that bind and transport gases, gases must be directly delivered to the target cells. This necessitates the establishment of effective gas transport pathways connecting stomata to the target cells. However, our understanding of this process remains fragmented. Recent studies have shed light on the mechanisms underlying air space formation in various model and non-model plant species. This review aims to consolidate these findings, to provide a comprehensive overview of our current understanding of air space formation, and to outline potential avenues for future research that will address remaining gaps in knowledge.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11003,"journal":{"name":"Current opinion in plant biology","volume":"85 ","pages":"Article 102725"},"PeriodicalIF":8.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143860447","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kevin A. Bird , Amanda Agosto Ramos , Daniel J. Kliebenstein
{"title":"Phylogenetic and genomic mechanisms shaping glucosinolate innovation","authors":"Kevin A. Bird , Amanda Agosto Ramos , Daniel J. Kliebenstein","doi":"10.1016/j.pbi.2025.102705","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pbi.2025.102705","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Plants have created an immense diversity of specialized metabolites to optimize fitness within a complex environment. Each plant lineage has created novel metabolites often using the classical duplication/neo-functionalization model, but this is constrained by undersampled genera and an absence of high-quality genomes. Phylogenetically resolved genomes, deeper chemical sampling and mechanistic assessment of glucosinolate diversity in the Brassicales is beginning to fill in a deeper understanding of how chemical novelty arises. This is showing that small-scale duplications like tandem or distal events may have more influence on the formation of metabolic novelty. Similarly, this is showing that gene loss is playing a significant role in metabolic diversity across the entire genera. Finally, mechanistic work is showing that the glucosinolate pathway is not a defined endpoint but is being used as a launching pad for the creation of other metabolites. In combination, this work is showing the potential in combining high-quality genomes with balanced phylogenetic sampling to develop improved models on how specialized metabolite gene evolution occurs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11003,"journal":{"name":"Current opinion in plant biology","volume":"85 ","pages":"Article 102705"},"PeriodicalIF":8.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143715922","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Current insights into plant volatile organic compound biosynthesis","authors":"Lin Chen , Pan Liao","doi":"10.1016/j.pbi.2025.102708","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pbi.2025.102708","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Plant-derived volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are essential for various ecological interactions, including plant communication, pollinator attraction, and defense against herbivores. Some VOCs are active ingredients with significant economic and medicinal value. For example, monoterpenoids such as linalool, geraniol, menthol, camphor, borneol, citral, and thymol are well-known for their flavor and aroma. Most monoterpenoids have a strong scent and physiological activity; some compounds, like thymoquinone, have excellent anti-cancer activities, making them important for pharmaceuticals and also beneficial in food and cosmetics. VOCs encompass a diverse range of chemical classes, such as terpenoids, benzenoids/phenylpropanoids, amino acid derivatives, and fatty acid-derived compounds. With the development of genomic, transcriptomic, and metabolomic techniques, significant progress has been made in the discovery of genes for the biosynthesis of VOCs. Herein, recent advances in the biosynthesis of plant-derived VOCs, focusing on two main classes: benzenoids/phenylpropanoids and monoterpenes, are discussed. It highlights the identification of a peroxisomal enzyme, benzaldehyde synthase, in petunia that elucidates the biosynthetic pathway of benzaldehyde, and a bifunctional enzyme, geranyl/farnesyl diphosphate synthase (RcG/FPPS1), in roses (<em>Rosa chinensis</em> “Old Blush”) that contributes to the production of cytosolic geranyl diphosphate. Current understanding about canonical and non-canonical pathways for monoterpene formation and some approaches that are useful for gene discovery have been discussed. Open questions and future perspectives in this field have also been presented.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11003,"journal":{"name":"Current opinion in plant biology","volume":"85 ","pages":"Article 102708"},"PeriodicalIF":8.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143705219","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yong Xiao , Wei Xia , Zhuang Yang , Junjie Zhou, Jie Luo
{"title":"Advances in the analysis and application of metabolites from tropical plants","authors":"Yong Xiao , Wei Xia , Zhuang Yang , Junjie Zhou, Jie Luo","doi":"10.1016/j.pbi.2025.102728","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pbi.2025.102728","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Tropical regions are characterized by a rich diversity of plant species and unique growth environments, resulting in the production of numerous important medicinal metabolites. This review summarizes the recent progress in the analysis of metabolites from tropical plants. These plants have developed specific metabolites that aid their adaptation to challenging environments, and these compounds hold significant medicinal value. The review further examines the genetic biosynthetic pathways that contribute to the production of these compounds, providing insights into the mechanisms of their synthesis. Additionally, it discusses future prospects for the utilization of these metabolites, exploring potential advancements in biotechnological approaches to enhance their production and application. By emphasizing the significance of tropical plants as reservoirs of bioactive substances, this review aims to encourage further exploration and sustainable use of these important natural resources in the field of medicine and beyond.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11003,"journal":{"name":"Current opinion in plant biology","volume":"85 ","pages":"Article 102728"},"PeriodicalIF":8.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143870466","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Chemodiversity of sulfur-containing metabolites emphasizing the ecophysiology of Allium plants and the developmental innovations in bulb formation","authors":"Mustafa Bulut","doi":"10.1016/j.pbi.2025.102724","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pbi.2025.102724","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Sulfur (S) metabolism has played a critical role in the evolution of life, serving as an energy source for early biochemical pathways like dissimilatory S reduction and anoxygenic photosynthesis. Across kingdoms, S metabolism displays remarkable diversity. S-containing metabolites like glucosinolates (GLSs) in Brassicaceae and <em>S</em>-alk(en)ylcysteine sulfoxides in Allium species illustrate the ecological and evolutionary significance of S-containing compounds. These metabolites contribute to defense, homeostasis, and ecological interactions, with mechanisms like enzymatic hydrolysis releasing bioactive molecules such as allicin. Further, advances in transcriptomics and biochemical studies have revealed the genetic underpinnings of S metabolism and specialized pathways in bulb-forming Allium species. The role extends to ecological interactions by modulating S-associated defense pathways. This integrative understanding of S metabolism underscores its evolutionary, physiological, and ecological importance.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11003,"journal":{"name":"Current opinion in plant biology","volume":"85 ","pages":"Article 102724"},"PeriodicalIF":8.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143791256","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Matthew E. Bergman , Xing-Qi Huang , Sylvie Baudino , Jean-Claude Caissard , Natalia Dudareva
{"title":"Plant volatile organic compounds: Emission and perception in a changing world","authors":"Matthew E. Bergman , Xing-Qi Huang , Sylvie Baudino , Jean-Claude Caissard , Natalia Dudareva","doi":"10.1016/j.pbi.2025.102706","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pbi.2025.102706","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are produced by all kingdoms of life and play crucial roles in mediating the communication between organisms and their environment through emission and perception. Plants, in particular, produce and emit an exceptional variety of VOCs that together serve as a complex chemical language facilitating intra-plant, inter-plant, plant–animal, and plant–microbe interactions. VOC signals are perceived and decrypted by receiver plants; however, the emission, composition, distribution and effective range, as well as uptake of these infochemicals depend on temperature and atmospheric chemistry in addition to their physicochemical properties. Since both emission and perception are directly affected by ongoing climate change, research into these processes is urgently needed to develop mitigation strategies against this threat to plant communication networks. In this brief review, we highlight the recent advances about plant VOC emission and perception, emphasizing the effect of the current climate crisis on these processes. Despite some progress in understanding VOC emission and perception, significant gaps remain in elucidating their molecular mechanisms in plants.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11003,"journal":{"name":"Current opinion in plant biology","volume":"85 ","pages":"Article 102706"},"PeriodicalIF":8.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143704618","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"WUSCHEL: The essential regulator of the Arabidopsis shoot Apical Meristem","authors":"Elena D. Shpak, Muhammad Uzair","doi":"10.1016/j.pbi.2025.102739","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pbi.2025.102739","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Plant longevity depends on reservoirs of slowly proliferating stem cells, where a reduced rate of division is essential for maintaining DNA integrity. Aboveground stem cells are localized in the central zone of the shoot meristems, whose size is controlled by the transcription factor WUS. This review focuses on the mechanism of WUS function and the regulation of its expression. WUS maintains the central zone's size by controlling the hormones such as cytokinins. It forms complexes with various transcription factors and can act as a repressor and an activator of gene transcription. Cytokinins define WUS spatial expression relative to the meristem surface, while EPFL signaling limits <em>WUS</em> radial expansion. CLV3 signaling modulates <em>WUS</em> expression levels within the boundaries set by cytokinin and EPFLs. A significant overlap of <em>WUS</em> and <em>CLV3</em> expression in the L3 layer suggests that autocrine signaling by CLV3 may play a central role in regulating <em>WUS</em> expression.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11003,"journal":{"name":"Current opinion in plant biology","volume":"85 ","pages":"Article 102739"},"PeriodicalIF":8.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144068136","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Occurrence and characterization of tricin-lignin","authors":"Wu Lan , Lydia Pui Ying Lam , Andy Lui , Clive Lo","doi":"10.1016/j.pbi.2025.102703","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pbi.2025.102703","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Tricin, a flavonoid, is a noncanonical lignin monomer present in grasses and other monocots, but rarely in dicots. This review explores the latest discovery of biosynthesis, transport, and distribution of tricin in plant cell walls, and discusses the missing gaps in this engaging topic. Tricin biosynthesis in grasses involves the phenylpropanoid and flavonoid pathways, with distinct enzymatic processes leading to tricin incorporation into lignin polymers. Methods for characterizing and quantifying tricin in lignin are also highlighted, including NMR spectroscopy and chromatographic techniques with discussion of challenges associated with its low abundance in plant tissues. The stability of tricin during biomass pretreatment processes is discussed, with findings indicating that acidic and alkaline conditions degrade tricin, while milder pretreatments preserve its structure. These insights underscore the potential of tricin in enhancing the functionality of lignin for sustainable bioprocessing, offering promising applications in pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, and biorefinery industries.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11003,"journal":{"name":"Current opinion in plant biology","volume":"85 ","pages":"Article 102703"},"PeriodicalIF":8.3,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143686867","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}