Plant Secondary Metabolic Regulation and Engineering

Plants have evolved numerous secondary metabolic pathways, some of which facilitate the human demand for natural chemicals, such as drugs, nutrients, agrochemicals and chemical additives. However, most of the secondary metabolites are low in contents and thus it is difficult to obtain them on a large scale. Normally, the secondary metabolites are spatio-temporally biosynthesized and can respond to and resist various biotic and abiotic stresses. Meanwhile, the exogenous stresses can trigger a series of regulation processes and thus the contents of secondary metabolites will be increased. Recently, plant secondary metabolites have been believed not secondary as they also play an important role in plant growth and development. Their biosynthesis, regulation, and roles in stress resistance still need to be further clarified, which will lay a strong foundation for increasing the content of plant secondary metabolites.

The aim of this topic is to showcase studies that focus on:

1) Identification of key genes involved in the regulation or biosynthesis of secondary metabolites;
2) Revealing the potential roles of secondary metabolites in plants;
3) Elucidating the evolution of biosynthesis of plant secondary metabolic;
4) Improving the content of valuable secondary metabolites by metabolic engineering.

We welcome Original Research or Review articles that relate to (but are not limited to) the following themes:

1) Identification of the key genes related to the biosynthesis, accumulation and regulation of plant secondary metabolites.
2) Clarifying the role of plant secondary metabolites in plant growth and development;
3) Improving the contents of plant secondary metabolites through metabolic engineering.
4) New insights on the evolution of plant secondary metabolic pathway.