Work

Metabolic engineering of plant monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes and diterpenes—current status and future opportunities

Year: 2012

Type: review

Abstract: Terpenoids (a.k.a. isoprenoids) represent the most diverse class of natural products found in plants, with tens of thousands of reported structures. Plant-derived terpenoids have a multitude of pharmaceutical and industrial applications, but the natural resources for their extraction are often limited and, in many cases, synthetic routes are not commercially viable. Some of the most valuable terpenoids are not accumulated in model plants or crops, and genetic resources for breeding of terpenoid natural product traits are thus poorly developed. At present, metabolic engineering, either in the native producer or a heterologous host, is the only realistic alternative to improve yield and accessibility. In this review article, we will evaluate the state of the art of modulating the biosynthetic pathways for the production of mono-, sesqui- and diterpenes in plants.

Source: Plant Biotechnology Journal

DOI: 10.1111/pbi.12022

Authors: B. Markus Lange, Amirhossein Ahkami

Institution: Washington State University

Language: English

Topic: Plant biochemistry and biosynthesis

Subfield: Molecular Biology

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: bronze

Funders: U.S. Department of Energy, Basic Energy Sciences

Awards: G222768804, G5648016710, G585534866