The Phenylpropanoid Pathway in Arabidopsis

Abstract

The phenylpropanoid pathway serves as a rich source of metabolites in plants, being required for the biosynthesis of lignin, and serving as a starting point for the production of many other important compounds, such as the flavonoids, coumarins, and lignans. In spite of the fact that the phenylpropanoids and their derivatives are sometimes classified as secondary metabolites, their relevance to plant survival has been made clear via the study of Arabidopsis and other plant species. As a model system, Arabidopsis has helped to elucidate many details of the phenylpropanoid pathway, its enzymes and intermediates, and the interconnectedness of the pathway with plant metabolism as a whole. These advances in our understanding have been made possible in large part by the relative ease with which mutations can be generated, identified, and studied in Arabidopsis. Herein, we provide an overview of the research progress that has been made in recent years, emphasizing both the genes (and gene families) associated with the phenylpropanoid pathway in Arabidopsis, and the end products that have contributed to the identification of many mutants deficient in the phenylpropanoid metabolism: the sinapate esters.

Arabidopsis Kelch Repeat F-Box Proteins Regulate Phenylpropanoid Biosynthesis via Controlling the Turnover of Phenylalanine Ammonia-Lyase

“…Phenylpropanoids comprise a large family of aromatic metabolites, including the building blocks of the cell wall structural component lignin, and myriad small molecule phenolics, such as coumarins, stilbenes, flavonoids, anthocyanins, and condensed tannins (Vogt, 2010;Fraser and Chapple, 2011), all of which have diverse functions in plant growth and development and plant-environment interactions (Dixon and Paiva, 1995). Many phenolics also have antioxidant activities that can prevent cancer and cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases and therefore are beneficial to human health (Winkel-Shirley, 2001;Boudet, 2007;Martin, 2013).…”

The anthocyanin reduced Tomato Mutant Demonstrates the Role of Flavonols in Tomato Lateral Root and Root Hair Development

“…The phenylpropanoid pathway is one of the bestcharacterized systems of plant natural product biochemistry, despite its complexity (Winkel, 2006;Fraser and Chapple, 2011). This pathway produces lignins, sinapates, and flavonoids, which includes flavonones, flavonols, and anthocyanins, and a variety of more specialized secondary metabolites.…”

Identification of the transcriptionally active cytochrome P450 repertoire in Coffea arabica

“…One CaCYP73 gene and 2 CaCYP98 genes were classified as putative cinnamate 4-hydroxylase and putative p-coumaroyl-3-hydroxylase, respectively (Fraser and Chapple, 2011). Their enzyme activities were already described in a previous study with Coffea species (Joët et al, 2009).…”