How plants fine-tune their natural chemical defenses

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Washington, September 8 : A new research has found out how plants fine-tune their natural chemical defenses.



Making fewer changes led to a mixture of henbane and tobacco-specific molecules and even so-called "chemical hybrids," explaining how plants can tinker with their natural chemical factories and adjust their product line to a changing environment without shutting down intracellular chemical factories completely.

The findings not only gave the Salk scientists a glimpse of the plants' evolutionary past, but may help them fine-tune the production of natural and environmentally friendly fungicides and pesticides as well as new flavors and fragrances by turning "enzymatic knobs" in the right direction.


"Most people are familiar with the word biodiversity, but 'chemodiversity,'-the extraordinary tapestry of natural chemicals found in plants-is just as important for life, the appearance of new species and the survival of many different ecosystems on the earth," said Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator Joseph P. Noel, who led the study.


For the current study, postdoctoral researcher Paul O'Maille, probed the metabolic pathways that members of the nightshade family, which includes tobacco, tomatoes, potatoes, peppers and henbane, use to produce terpenes-compounds that impart aromatic odors and flavors to foods.



"It isn't the specific amino acid change that's important but rather the genetic context in which it occurs," said O'Maille.



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