Cawood, G.L. and Ton, J. orcid.org/0000-0002-8512-2802 (2025) Decoding resilience: ecology, regulation, and evolution of biosynthetic gene clusters. Trends in Plant Science, 30 (2). pp. 185-198. ISSN 1360-1385
Abstract
Secondary metabolism is crucial for plant survival and can generate chemistry with nutritional, therapeutic, and industrial value. Biosynthetic genes of selected secondary metabolites cluster within localised chromosomal regions. The arrangement of these biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) challenges the long-held model of random gene order in eukaryotes, raising questions about their regulation, ecological significance, and evolution. In this review, we address these questions by exploring the contribution of BGCs to ecologically relevant plant–biotic interactions, while also evaluating the molecular-(epi)genetic mechanisms controlling their coordinated stress- and tissue-specific expression. Based on evidence that BGCs have distinct chromatin signatures and are enriched with transposable elements (TEs), we integrate emerging hypotheses into an updated evolutionary model emphasising how stress-induced epigenetic processes have shaped BGC formation.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2024 Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
Keywords: | biosynthetic gene clusters; secondary metabolism; chemical ecology; epigenetics; molecular evolutionary genetics |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > School of Biosciences (Sheffield) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number ENZA ZADEN RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT B.V. 102/41600 ENZA ZADEN RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT B.V. NLR202225 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 11 Oct 2024 16:20 |
Last Modified: | 03 Mar 2025 14:42 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Elsevier BV |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.tplants.2024.09.008 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:218215 |