My Way: Noncanonical Biosynthesis Pathways for Plant Volatiles

Trends Plant Sci. 2016 Oct;21(10):884-894. doi: 10.1016/j.tplants.2016.07.007. Epub 2016 Jul 27.

Abstract

Plant volatiles are crucial for various interactions with other organisms and their surrounding environment. A large number of these volatiles belong to the terpenoid and benzenoid/phenylpropanoid classes, which have long been considered to be exclusively synthesized from a few canonical pathways. However, several alternative pathways producing these plant volatiles have been discovered recently. This review summarizes the current knowledge about new pathways for these two major groups of plant volatiles, which open new perspectives for applications in metabolic engineering.

Keywords: benzenoids; biosynthesis; phenylpropanoids; terpenes.

Publication types

  • Review
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Metabolic Networks and Pathways* / physiology
  • Plants / enzymology
  • Plants / metabolism*
  • Volatile Organic Compounds / metabolism*

Substances

  • Volatile Organic Compounds