The Evolution of Flavonoid Biosynthesis: A Bryophyte Perspective

Abstract

The flavonoid pathway is one of the best characterized specialized metabolite pathways of plants. In angiosperms, the flavonoids have varied roles in assisting with tolerance to abiotic stress and are also key for signaling to pollinators and seed dispersal agents. The pathway is thought to be specific to land plants and to have arisen during the period of land colonization around 550-470 million years ago. In this review we consider current knowledge of the flavonoid pathway in the bryophytes, consisting of the liverworts, hornworts, and mosses. The pathway is less characterized for bryophytes than angiosperms, and the first genetic and molecular studies on bryophytes are finding both commonalities and significant differences in flavonoid biosynthesis and pathway regulation between angiosperms and bryophytes. This includes biosynthetic pathway branches specific to each plant group and the apparent complete absence of flavonoids from the hornworts.

Treasure from garden: Bioactive compounds of buckwheat

“…Flavonols and their O -glycosides have a well-organized biosynthesis pathway in different higher plants ( Martin and Li, 2017 , Perez de Souza et al, 2020 ). The rutin biosynthesis initiates from phenylalanine which is deaminated by phenylalanine ammonia-lyase ( PAL ) to form cinnamic acid, followed by a series of reactions catalyzed by cinnamate 4-hydroxylase ( C4H ), 4-coumarate CoA ligase ( 4CL ), chalcone synthase ( CHS ) and chalcone isomerase ( CHI ) ( Davies et al, 2020 , Matsui and Walker, 2019 , Taguchi, 2016 , Yonekura-Sakakibara et al, 2019 ). This condensation reaction is a major action in the pathway directing to the synthesis of flavonoids ( Holton & Cornish, 1995 ).…”

“…Then kaempferol and quercetin are produced from dihydrokaempferol and dihydroquercetin by flavonol synthase ( FLS ), respectively ( Matsui et al, 2018 , Taguchi, 2016 , Yonekura-Sakakibara et al, 2019 , Zhao et al, 2015 ). The last step of rutin synthesis is the glycosylation of quercetin by quercetin 3- O -glucosyltransferase ( F3GT ) to form isoquercitrin, this isoquercitrin converted to rutin by rhamnosyl transferase ( RT ) ( Davies et al, 2020 , Taguchi, 2016 ). The activity of F3GT was linked with the rutin accumulation, which was refined partly from the common buckwheat cotyledons ( Suzuki et al, 2005 , Taguchi, 2016 ).…”

Oil body formation inMarchantia polymorphais controlled by MpC1HDZ and serves as a defense against arthropod herbivores

“…Gene names from Marchantia v5.1 [92] was assigned in accordance to gene corresponding table available at http://marchantia.info/nomenclature/ [2]. Genes were annotated using information nomenclature previously published [93] or available at MarpolBase.…”

"Desert Chemotypes": The Potential of Desert Plants-Derived Metabolome to Become a Sustainable Resource for Drug Leads

“…Chloroplast genomics of myrrh producing trees is an example of a basic method to support the development of a protocol to cultivate myrrh producing species 89 . It is already established that the production of flavonoids, known to be important in enabling tolerance to both abiotic and biotic stresses, can be induced by desert parameters such as UV-B light (UVB), nutrient deprivation, salinity, water availability, and more 90 . In practical terms, the list of metabolites ("metabolite signature") of active plant extract will be the pointer for the development of the right protocol in order to produce enough biomass without compromising the molecular treasures found in desert conditions.…”