Plants have evolved diabolically complicated metabolic networks . For years , scientists focus on how plants make secondary metabolites , the compounds that plants produce to heighten their defense team and survival mechanisms .
“ Only recently we started apprize that the genes involved in making those specialized , petty metabolites are being regulated , ” said Ying Li , associate professor of gardening and landscape architecture at Purdue University . “ They are turned on when plants need to make secondary metabolites . And they are turned off when plants will no longer need to make them . ”
Purdue ’s Natalia Dudareva , Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry and Horticulture and Landscape Architecture , said , “ Also , secondary metabolite are often toxic to cell when they accumulate to in high spirits levels , as we saw when we manipulated the immunity of the barrier that volatile junior-grade metabolites have to pass through to be released into the ambiance . However , cells sense the accumulation of these toxic compound and downregulate cistron responsible for for the formation of forerunner for these volatiles . ”
In a peculiar matter of the journal Trends in Plant Science , Li and Dudavera highlight the importance of specialized metabolite in regulating the genes that plants apply to form chemical compound . Dudareva directs and Li is a penis of Purdue ’s Center for Plant Biology , which aims to provide a clearer understanding of processes that touch plant biota .
“ We saw initial hints that the lower-ranking metabolites themselves can be the signal to say , ‘ OK , now we need to deform those genes on and off , ’ ” Li said . “ And we almost get it on nothing about how metabolite are sensed by the plant and then lead to the genes turning on and off . ”
Sorting out the complexity of secondary metamorphosis presents challenges because the process is highly specific to each different plant lineage . Sometimes only specific cells make secondary metabolites at a sure sentence for a given works type . And the works often produce metabolites in little quantities , making them difficult to observe .
researcher also necessitate to try how the metabolites interact with proteins . “ That allows you to say which protein can smell out and bind to these metabolites , ” Li said . Gene regulation is also involved . “ You have to be able to try gene grammatical construction . And that is enabled by the next - generation sequence toolkit . ”
Even though a specific plant makes its own unique metabolites , “ next - factor sequencing in the last 20 years allow us to look at the genome activity of any plant , ” she say .
Like many plant life scientists , Li focused much of her inquiry on primary metabolism , peculiarly N metabolism , which industrial plant trust upon for growth . The level of specialization in subaltern metamorphosis surprised her . Despite the differences between primary and petty metabolism , they seem to come after similar rules at the molecular level , she say .
“ Secondary metabolite are crucial for a plant to accommodate to a nerve-racking site . For example , during drought or pathogen attack , secondary metabolite avail to oppose off those stresses , ” Li said . Secondary metabolism is also important for pollination succeeder . Flowers attract insects , but mood change brings business concern about whether the pollinator - plant relationship can keep working .
“ For these reasons , there is always a dream of being able to do metabolic technology to make industrial plant bring on more of the specialized metabolite that are good for plant natural selection , better resistance to a focus condition , to make medicine , or draw pollinators better , ” she said .
research worker postulate to better understand how produce too many metabolite can trouble gene ordinance . But if the cognitive operation can be interrupt in the correct spot , “ then we can safely produce a heap of metabolite because it does n’t trigger the feedback regulation , ” Li order .
Michigan State University ’s Erich Grotewold also contributed to the Trends in Plant Science clause . Duncan James Corrow Grant from the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture supported this study .
root : purdue.edu
