The Genetic Regulation of Secondary Metabolic Pathways in Response to Salinity and Drought as Abiotic Stresses

Global development has generated a plethora of unfavorable and adverse environmental factors for the living organisms in the ecosystem. Plants are sessile organisms, and they are crucial to sustain life on earth. Since plants are sessile, they face a great number of environmental challenges related to abiotic stresses, such as temperature fluctuation, drought, salinity, flood and metal contamination. Salinity and drought are considered major abiotic stresses that negatively affect the plants’ growth and production of useful content. However, plants have evolved various molecular mechanisms to increase their tolerance to these environmental stresses. There is a whole complex system of communication (cross-talk) through massive signaling cascades that are activated and modulated in response to salinity and drought. Secondary metabolites are believed to play significant roles in the plant’s response and resistance to salinity and drought stress. Until recently, attempts to unravel the biosynthetic pathways were limited mainly due to the inadequate plant genomics resources. However, recent advancements in generating high-throughput “omics” datasets, computational tools and functional genomics approach integration have aided in the elucidation of biosynthetic pathways of many plant bioactive metabolites. This review gathers comprehensive knowledge of plants’ complex system that is involved in the response and resistance to salinity and water deficit stresses as abiotic stress. Additionally, it offers clues in determining the genes involved in this complex and measures its activity. It covers basic information regarding the signaling molecules involved in salinity and drought resistance and how plant hormones regulate the cross-talking mechanism with emphasis on transcriptional activity. Moreover, it discusses many studies that illustrate the relationship between salinity and drought and secondary metabolite production. Furthermore, several transcriptome analysis research papers of medicinal plants are illustrated. The aim of this review is to be a key for any researcher that is aspiring to study the relationship between salinity and drought stresses and secondary metabolite production at the transcriptome and transcription level.

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Unlocking Pharmacological and Therapeutic Potential of Hyacinth Bean (Lablab purpureus L.): Role of OMICS Based Biology, Biotic and Abiotic Elicitors

10.5772/intechopen.99345 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Krishna Kumar Rai ◽

Nagendra Rai ◽

Shashi Pandey-Rai

Keyword(s):

Secondary Metabolites ◽

Secondary Metabolite ◽

Molecular Mechanisms ◽

Therapeutic Potential ◽

Secondary Metabolite Production ◽

Metabolite Production ◽

Genetic Potential ◽

Abiotic Elicitors ◽

Hyacinth Bean ◽

Underutilised Crops

Hyacinth bean also known as Indian bean is multipurpose legume crops consumed both as food by humans and as forage by animals. Being a rich source of protein, it also produces distinct secondary metabolites such as flavonoids, phenols and tyrosinase which not only help strengthened plant’s own innate immunity against abiotic/biotrophic attackers but also play important therapeutic role in the treatment of various chronic diseases. However, despite its immense therapeutic and nutritional attributes in strengthening food, nutrition and therapeutic security in many developing countries, it is still considered as an “orphan crop” for unravelling its genetic potential and underlying molecular mechanisms for enhancing secondary metabolite production. Several lines of literatures have well documented the use of OMICS based techniques and biotic and abiotic elicitors for stimulating secondary metabolite production particularly in model as well as in few economically important crops. However, only limited reports have described their application for stimulating secondary metabolite production in underutilised crops. Therefore, the present chapter will decipher different dimensions of multi-omics tools and their integration with other conventional techniques (biotic and abiotic elicitors) for unlocking hidden genetic potential of hyacinth bean for elevating the production of secondary metabolites having pharmaceutical and therapeutic application. Additionally, the study will also provide valuable insights about how these advance OMICS tools can be successfully exploited for accelerating functional genomics and breeding research for unravelling their hidden pharmaceutical and therapeutic potential thereby ensuring food and therapeutic security for the betterment of mankind.

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Transcriptome analysis implicates secondary metabolite production, redox reactions, and programmed cell death during allorecognition in Cryphonectria parasitica

G3 Genes|Genome|Genetics ◽

10.1093/g3journal/jkaa021 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Anatoly A Belov ◽

Thomas E Witte ◽

David P Overy ◽

Myron L Smith

Keyword(s):

Cell Death ◽

Programmed Cell Death ◽

Differential Expression ◽

Secondary Metabolite ◽

Transcriptome Analysis ◽

Molecular Mechanisms ◽

Cryphonectria Parasitica ◽

Secondary Metabolite Production ◽

Vegetative Incompatibility ◽

Metabolite Production

Abstract The underlying molecular mechanisms of programmed cell death associated with fungal allorecognition, a form of innate immunity, remain largely unknown. In this study, transcriptome analysis was used to infer mechanisms activated during barrage formation in vic3-incompatible strains of Cryphonectria parasitica, the chestnut blight fungus. Pronounced differential expression occurred in barraging strains of genes involved in mating pheromone (mf2-1, mf2-2), secondary metabolite production, detoxification (including oxidative stress), apoptosis-related, RNA interference, and HET-domain genes. Evidence for secondary metabolite production and reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation is supported through UPLC-HRMS analysis and cytological staining, respectively. Differential expression of mating-related genes and HET-domain genes was further examined by RT-qPCR of incompatible interactions involving each of the six vegetative incompatibility (vic) loci in C. parasitica and revealed distinct recognition process networks. We infer that vegetative incompatibility in C. parasitica activates defence reactions that involve secondary metabolism, resulting in increased toxicity of the extra- and intracellular environment. Accumulation of ROS (and other potential toxins) may result in detoxification failure and activation of apoptosis, sporulation, and the expression of associated pheromone genes. The incompatible reaction leaves abundant traces of a process-specific metabolome as conidiation is initiated.

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The impact of bZIP Atf1ortholog global regulators in fungi

Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology ◽

10.1007/s00253-021-11431-7 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Éva Leiter ◽

Tamás Emri ◽

Klaudia Pákozdi ◽

László Hornok ◽

István Pócsi

Keyword(s):

Transcription Factors ◽

Stress Response ◽

Secondary Metabolite ◽

Plant Pathogens ◽

Leucine Zipper ◽

Secondary Metabolite Production ◽

Special Focus ◽

Human Pathogens ◽

Metabolite Production ◽

The Impact

Abstract Regulation of signal transduction pathways is crucial for the maintenance of cellular homeostasis and organismal development in fungi. Transcription factors are key elements of this regulatory network. The basic-region leucine zipper (bZIP) domain of the bZIP-type transcription factors is responsible for DNA binding while their leucine zipper structural motifs are suitable for dimerization with each other facilitiating the formation of homodimeric or heterodimeric bZIP proteins. This review highlights recent knowledge on the function of fungal orthologs of the Schizosaccharomyces pombe Atf1, Aspergillus nidulans AtfA, and Fusarium verticillioides FvAtfA, bZIP-type transcription factors with a special focus on pathogenic species. We demonstrate that fungal Atf1-AtfA-FvAtfA orthologs play an important role in vegetative growth, sexual and asexual development, stress response, secondary metabolite production, and virulence both in human pathogens, including Aspergillus fumigatus, Mucor circinelloides, Penicillium marneffei, and Cryptococcus neoformans and plant pathogens, like Fusarium ssp., Magnaporthe oryzae, Claviceps purpurea, Botrytis cinerea, and Verticillium dahliae. Key points • Atf1 orthologs play crucial role in the growth and development of fungi. • Atf1 orthologs orchestrate environmental stress response of fungi. • Secondary metabolite production and virulence are coordinated by Atf1 orthologs.

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Secondary metabolite production and related biosynthetic genes expression in response to methyl jasmonate in Castilleja tenuiflora Benth. in vitro plants

Plant Cell Tissue and Organ Culture (PCTOC) ◽

10.1007/s11240-020-01975-3 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Elizabeth Rubio-Rodríguez ◽

Ileana Vera-Reyes ◽

Edgar Baldemar Sepúlveda-García ◽

Ana C. Ramos-Valdivia ◽

Gabriela Trejo-Tapia

Keyword(s):

Methyl Jasmonate ◽

Secondary Metabolite ◽

Secondary Metabolite Production ◽

Biosynthetic Genes ◽

Metabolite Production ◽

In Vitro Plants ◽

Genes Expression

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Advances and Perspectives in Tissue Culture and Genetic Engineering of Cannabis

International Journal of Molecular Sciences ◽

10.3390/ijms22115671 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (11) ◽

pp. 5671

Author(s):

Mohsen Hesami ◽

Austin Baiton ◽

Milad Alizadeh ◽

Marco Pepe ◽

Davoud Torkamaneh ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Plant Regeneration ◽

Genetic Engineering ◽

Suspension Culture ◽

Secondary Metabolite ◽

Hairy Root ◽

Root Culture ◽

Hairy Root Culture ◽

Gene Transformation ◽

Secondary Metabolite Production ◽

Metabolite Production

For a long time, Cannabis sativa has been used for therapeutic and industrial purposes. Due to its increasing demand in medicine, recreation, and industry, there is a dire need to apply new biotechnological tools to introduce new genotypes with desirable traits and enhanced secondary metabolite production. Micropropagation, conservation, cell suspension culture, hairy root culture, polyploidy manipulation, and Agrobacterium-mediated gene transformation have been studied and used in cannabis. However, some obstacles such as the low rate of transgenic plant regeneration and low efficiency of secondary metabolite production in hairy root culture and cell suspension culture have restricted the application of these approaches in cannabis. In the current review, in vitro culture and genetic engineering methods in cannabis along with other promising techniques such as morphogenic genes, new computational approaches, clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR), CRISPR/Cas9-equipped Agrobacterium-mediated genome editing, and hairy root culture, that can help improve gene transformation and plant regeneration, as well as enhance secondary metabolite production, have been highlighted and discussed.

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