Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
5.4
4.5
Journals
Plants
Special Issues
Isoprenoids: Metabolic Mechanisms, Bioactivity and Application
share announcement

Isoprenoids: Metabolic Mechanisms, Bioactivity and Application

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Phytochemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2024 | Viewed by 3312

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Lei Shi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Key Laboratory of Plant Resources, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China National Botanical Garden, Beijing 100093, China
Interests: diversity and conservation of aromatic plants; breeding; gene regulation and function excavation of aromatic secondary metabolites
Prof. Dr. Zora Dajic Stevanovic

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Agriculture, University of Belgrade, Nemanjina 6, 11080 Belgrade, Serbia
Interests: plant bioactive compounds; diversity and conservation of medicinal plants; ethnobotany; functional foods; Raman spectroscopy and essential oils

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Isoprenoids belong to the most diverse class of secondary metabolites in the plant kingdom. Terpenoids are the most dominant type among isoprenoids. They are the main ingredients of essential oils synthesized in special glandular structures on the surface of above-ground plant parts. Terpenoids play many important roles in plants, including in the protection against temperature, oxidative and drought stress, protection from herbivore and pest attack, in the attraction of pollinators, and in signaling processes and the regulation of plant growth and development. Many natural and synthetic terpenoids and their mixtures, including essential oils, have great economic value, because of their increasing demand from the pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food industries. Terpenoids are known for their high biological activity, including antimicrobial and antiviral properties, as well as their anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antinociceptive, anti-ageing and neuroprotective effects. Furthermore, the study of plant isoprenoids has given us great insights into the control of plant development, structure, and function. Various technologies, including more sensitive detection and genomics, proteomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics, etc., have been utilized to study isoprenoid compounds. However, the use of these technologies in aromatic plants is still limited, and research must be carried out on the detection and identification of the metabolic mechanisms and biological activity of terpenes and terpenoids in aromatic plants. This Special Issue of Plants will focus on recent findings and progress for various aspects related to the metabolic mechanisms and biological activity of terpenoid compounds from aromatic plants. We are looking for original research and review articles on all relevant topics. Studies that address the aspects of isolation and determination of these metabolites, biosynthesis and genetic regulation, phylogenic studies, their role in plant stress responses, the bioavailability and bioactivity of isoprenoids, as well as studies that novel biotechnologies in their application, are especially welcome.

Prof. Dr. Lei Shi
Prof. Dr. Zora Dajic Stevanovic
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Plants is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • aromatic plants
  • isoprenoids
  • terpenoids
  • bioactivity
  • metabolic mechanisms
  • gene regulation
  • biotechnologies

Published Papers (3 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

11 pages, 2233 KiB  
Article
Development of Menthyl Esters of Valine for Pest Control in Tomato and Lettuce Crops
by Genki Mori, Sarira Rahimian, Rika Ozawa, Kenya Murata, Masakazu Hachisu and Gen-ichiro Arimura
Plants 2024, 13(7), 1015; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13071015 - 2 Apr 2024
Viewed by 549
Abstract
Menthyl ester of valine (MV) has been developed as a plant defense potentiator to induce pest resistance in crops. In this study, we attempted to establish MV hydrochloride (MV-HCl) in lettuce and tomato crops. When MV-HCl solutions were used to treat soil or [...] Read more.
Menthyl ester of valine (MV) has been developed as a plant defense potentiator to induce pest resistance in crops. In this study, we attempted to establish MV hydrochloride (MV-HCl) in lettuce and tomato crops. When MV-HCl solutions were used to treat soil or leaves of potted tomato and lettuce plants, 1 µM MV-HCl solution applied to potted plant soil was most effective in increasing the transcript level of defense genes such as pathogenesis-related 1 (PR1). As a result, leaf damage caused by Spodoptera litura and oviposition by Tetranychus urticae were significantly reduced. In addition, MV-HCl-treated plants showed an increased ability to attract Phytoseiulus persimilis, a predatory mite of T. urticae, when they were attacked by T. urticae. Overall, our findings showed that MV-HCl is likely to be effective in promoting not only direct defense by activating defense genes, but also indirect defense mediated by herbivore-induced plant volatiles. Moreover, based on the results of the sustainability of PR1 expression in tomato plants treated with MV-HCl every 3 days, field trials were conducted and showed a 70% reduction in natural leaf damage. Our results suggest a practical approach to promoting organic tomato and lettuce production using this new plant defense potentiator. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Isoprenoids: Metabolic Mechanisms, Bioactivity and Application)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

19 pages, 6022 KiB  
Article
Characterization of a Unique Pair of Ferredoxin and Ferredoxin NADP+ Reductase Isoforms That Operates in Non-Photosynthetic Glandular Trichomes
by Joshua T. Polito, Iris Lange, Kaylie E. Barton, Narayanan Srividya and B. Markus Lange
Plants 2024, 13(3), 409; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13030409 - 30 Jan 2024
Viewed by 1050
Abstract
Our recent investigations indicated that isoforms of ferredoxin (Fd) and ferredoxin NADP+ reductase (FNR) play essential roles for the reductive steps of the 2C-methyl-D-erythritol 4-phosphate (MEP) pathway of terpenoid biosynthesis in peppermint glandular trichomes (GTs). Based on an analysis of [...] Read more.
Our recent investigations indicated that isoforms of ferredoxin (Fd) and ferredoxin NADP+ reductase (FNR) play essential roles for the reductive steps of the 2C-methyl-D-erythritol 4-phosphate (MEP) pathway of terpenoid biosynthesis in peppermint glandular trichomes (GTs). Based on an analysis of several transcriptome data sets, we demonstrated the presence of transcripts for a leaf-type FNR (L-FNR), a leaf-type Fd (Fd I), a root-type FNR (R-FNR), and two root-type Fds (Fd II and Fd III) in several members of the mint family (Lamiaceae). The present study reports on the biochemical characterization of all Fd and FNR isoforms of peppermint (Mentha × piperita L.). The redox potentials of Fd and FNR isoforms were determined using photoreduction methods. Based on a diaphorase assay, peppermint R-FNR had a substantially higher specificity constant (kcat/Km) for NADPH than L-FNR. Similar results were obtained with ferricyanide as an electron acceptor. When assayed for NADPH–cytochrome c reductase activity, the specificity constant with the Fd II and Fd III isoforms (when compared to Fd I) was slightly higher for L-FNR and substantially higher for R-FNR. Based on real-time quantitative PCR assays with samples representing various peppermint organs and cell types, the Fd II gene was expressed very highly in metabolically active GTs (but also present at lower levels in roots), whereas Fd III was expressed at low levels in both roots and GTs. Our data provide evidence that high transcript levels of Fd II, and not differences in the biochemical properties of the encoded enzyme when compared to those of Fd III, are likely to support the formation of copious amounts of monoterpene via the MEP pathway in peppermint GTs. This work has laid the foundation for follow-up studies to further investigate the roles of a unique R-FNR–Fd II pair in non-photosynthetic GTs of the Lamiaceae. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Isoprenoids: Metabolic Mechanisms, Bioactivity and Application)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

15 pages, 3825 KiB  
Article
Chemical Compositions of Essential Oil Extracted from Eight Thyme Species and Potential Biological Functions
by Yanmei Dong, Ziling Wei, Rui Yang, Yanan Zhang, Meiyu Sun, Hongtong Bai, Meiling Mo, Chunlei Yao, Hui Li and Lei Shi
Plants 2023, 12(24), 4164; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12244164 - 15 Dec 2023
Viewed by 1181
Abstract
Thymus is an herbaceous perennial or subshrub of the Lamiaceae family and is widely distributed worldwide. Essential oils extracted from thymus have attracted much attention, owing to their potential biological functions. Here, we evaluated the chemical compositions of eight thyme essential oils (TEOs) [...] Read more.
Thymus is an herbaceous perennial or subshrub of the Lamiaceae family and is widely distributed worldwide. Essential oils extracted from thymus have attracted much attention, owing to their potential biological functions. Here, we evaluated the chemical compositions of eight thyme essential oils (TEOs) using gas chromatography mass spectrometry and assessed their antioxidant activity. The results showed that (1) the main components in eight TEOs were monoterpene hydrocarbons and oxygenated monoterpenes (84.26–92.84%), and the chemical compositions of the TEOs were affected by the specie factor; (2) eight TEOs could be divided into three groups (thymol-, geraniol-, and nerol acetate-types), and thymol was the main type; (3) eight TEOs had some common compounds, such as thymol and p-cymene, which were the main components in seven TEOs; (4) eight TEOs had antioxidant activity, and Thymus pulegioides, Thymus thracicus, and Thymus serpyllum EOs had stronger antioxidant activity than vitamin E (0.07–0.27 fold) at a concentration of 1 mg/mL, while Thymus quinquecostatus and Thymus longicaulis EOs had relatively weak antioxidant activity. In addition, three chemical type standards were used to evaluate potential roles in antibacterial and tumor therapy. The results showed that thymol had strong antibacterial activity against the growth of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, and antimigratory activity for A549 cell. Overall, our results can provide a theoretical basis for further exploring the function of natural products from thyme essential oils. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Isoprenoids: Metabolic Mechanisms, Bioactivity and Application)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-3
Back to TopTop