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Molecular Studies on Plant and Plant In Vitro Systems Secondary Metabolism

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Plant Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 March 2025 | Viewed by 6823

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Andrey Marchev

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratory of Metabolomics, Department of Biotechnology, The Stephan Angeloff Institute of Microbiology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 139 Ruski Blvd, 4000 Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Interests: natural products; plant-derived extracts and molecules; medicinal plants; plant in vitro systems; natural products pharmacology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

For centuries, plants have been intensively utilized as reliable sources of food and flavoring, and as agrochemical and pharmaceutical ingredients. Along with the primary metabolites, plants are notable for their considerable spectrum of secondary (or specialized) metabolites (SMs), such as phenylpropanoids and their derivatives (flavonoids, phenolic acids, tannins, glycosides, and lignins), terpenes (isoprenoids and terpenoids), and nitrogen-containing compounds (alkaloids and heterocyclic aromatics) that possess beneficial biological activities which are important to humans, including anticancer, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, antivirus, antimicrobial, and antioxidant properties, among others. Currently, these compounds are obtained via plant raw material extraction, plant in vitro systems cultivation, or chemical synthesis (which in most cases is economically not feasible). In general, the content of these SMs in plants is very low (<1%); therefore, approaches for enhancing the biosynthesis of high-value marketable molecules produced via plant/plant in vitro systems, such as metabolic engineering and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR), along with CRISPR-associated proteins (Cas), have been frequently applied.

The present Special Issue (SI) is dedicated to discussing the various advances in studying the molecular networks of secondary metabolism accumulation in plants and plant in vitro systems. The SI is open for original research articles, short communications, and reviews.

Dr. Andrey Marchev
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • plants
  • plant in vitro systems
  • secondary metabolism
  • sustainable production
  • elicitation
  • metabolic engineering
  • CRISPR/Cas
  • molecular targets
 

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 1605 KiB  
Article
Phytochemical Analysis and Antioxidant, Antimicrobial, and Antibiofilm Effects of a New Himalayan Lichen Placidium deosaiense Usman and Khalid Growing in Pakistan
by Anja Manojlović, Abdul Nasir Khalid, Muhammad Usman, Olgica Stefanović, Nevena Đukić, Nedeljko Manojlović and Jovica Tomović
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(20), 11203; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms252011203 - 18 Oct 2024
Viewed by 737
Abstract
Phytochemical composition and antimicrobial, antibiofilm, and antioxidant effects of a newly described Himalayan lichen Placidium deosaiense Usman and Khalid growing in Pakistan were investigated. HPLC–DAD methods were used for identification of secondary metabolites in acetone and methanol extracts. The total phenolics content was [...] Read more.
Phytochemical composition and antimicrobial, antibiofilm, and antioxidant effects of a newly described Himalayan lichen Placidium deosaiense Usman and Khalid growing in Pakistan were investigated. HPLC–DAD methods were used for identification of secondary metabolites in acetone and methanol extracts. The total phenolics content was measured using a spectrophotometric method. The study investigated the antioxidant (DPPH-scavenging activity assay and reducing-power assay), antibacterial (minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC)), and antibiofilm (inhibition of biofilm formation and reduction in mature biofilm) activities of extracts of the lichen P. deosaiense and isolated parietin. The chemical constituents olivetol, olivetolic acid, haematommic acid, fallacinol, and parietin were identified as major compounds in the tested extracts of the lichen. Parietin was isolated from the acetone extract on a separation column. The methanol extract had higher values of TPC (21.67 mg GAE/g) than the acetone extract. Isolated parietin showed the best antioxidant activity measures, according to the DPPH-scavenging activity assay (IC50 = 51.616 μg/mL) and reducing-power assay. Although the extracts showed the best antibacterial activity (especially against Proteus mirabilis ATCC 12453), parietin demonstrated superior antibiofilm activity (especially against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923). This is the first report on the phytochemical composition of the lichen Placidium deosaiense and the first description of the chemical composition of some of the 45 species of the genus Placidium. This research will pave the way for further exploration of new activities of this lichen and its metabolites, which are important for medicine and pharmacy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Studies on Plant and Plant In Vitro Systems Secondary Metabolism)
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13 pages, 2926 KiB  
Article
Exposure to Light of the Abaxial versus Adaxial Side of Detached Kalanchoë blossfeldiana Leaves Affects Anthocyanin Content and Composition Differently
by Wiesław Wiczkowski, Marian Saniewski, Agnieszka Marasek-Ciołakowska, Justyna Góraj-Koniarska, Joanna Mitrus and Marcin Horbowicz
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(5), 2875; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25052875 - 1 Mar 2024
Viewed by 1074
Abstract
The accumulation and composition of anthocyanins in leaves of Kalanchoë blossfeldiana, detached and kept for five days under natural light conditions, were investigated. The presence of fifteen derivatives of cyanidin, petunidin, and delphinidin was found. Changes in the content of each anthocyanin [...] Read more.
The accumulation and composition of anthocyanins in leaves of Kalanchoë blossfeldiana, detached and kept for five days under natural light conditions, were investigated. The presence of fifteen derivatives of cyanidin, petunidin, and delphinidin was found. Changes in the content of each anthocyanin in the leaves before and after exposure to light on the abaxial (naturally upper) and adaxial (naturally lower) sides of the leaves were compared. When the adaxial side was exposed to light, the anthocyanin contents of the leaves did not change. In contrast, when the abaxial side of detached leaves was exposed to light, there was enhanced accumulation of delphinidin-rhamnoside-glucoside, cyanidin-rhamnoside-glucoside, cyanidin-glucoside-glucoside, and two unknown derivatives of petunidin and delphinidin. Application of methyl jasmonate (JA-Me) on the abaxial side exposed to light inhibited the accumulation of these anthocyanins. This effect could probably be due to the presence of these anthocyanins in the epidermal cells of K. blossfeldiana leaves and was visible in the microscopic view of its cross-section. These anthocyanins were directly exposed to JA-Me, leading to inhibition of their formation and/or accumulation. The lack of significant effects of JA-Me on anthocyanin mono- and tri-glycosides may indicate that they are mainly present in the mesophyll tissue of the leaf. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Studies on Plant and Plant In Vitro Systems Secondary Metabolism)
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Review

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36 pages, 2578 KiB  
Review
The Untapped Potential of Hairy Root Cultures and Their Multiple Applications
by Iman Mirmazloum, Aleksandar K. Slavov and Andrey S. Marchev
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(23), 12682; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms252312682 - 26 Nov 2024
Viewed by 664
Abstract
Plants are rich sources of specialized metabolites, such as alkaloids, terpenes, phenolic acids, flavonoids, coumarins, and volatile oils, which provide various health benefits including anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antiaging, skin-altering, and anti-diabetic properties. However, challenges such as low and inconsistent yields, environment and geographic factors, [...] Read more.
Plants are rich sources of specialized metabolites, such as alkaloids, terpenes, phenolic acids, flavonoids, coumarins, and volatile oils, which provide various health benefits including anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antiaging, skin-altering, and anti-diabetic properties. However, challenges such as low and inconsistent yields, environment and geographic factors, and species-specific production of some specialized metabolites limit the supply of raw plant material for the food, cosmetic, or pharmaceutical industries. Therefore, biotechnological approaches using plant in vitro systems offer an appealing alternative for the production of biologically active metabolites. Among these, hairy root cultures induced by Rhizobium rhizogenes have firmed up their position as “green cell factories” due to their genotypic and biosynthetic stability. Hairy roots are valuable platforms for producing high-value phytomolecules at a low cost, are amenable to pathway engineering, and can be scaled up in bioreactors, making them attractive for commercialization. This review explores the potential of hairy roots for specialized metabolites biosynthesis focusing on biotechnology tools to enhance their production. Aspects of morphological peculiarities of hairy roots, the diversity of bioreactors design, and process intensification technologies for maximizing biosynthetic capacity, as well as examples of patented plant-derived (green-labeled) products produced through hairy root cultivation at lab and industrial scales, are addressed and discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Studies on Plant and Plant In Vitro Systems Secondary Metabolism)
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22 pages, 1739 KiB  
Review
Biofungicides Based on Plant Extracts: On the Road to Organic Farming
by Antonio de Jesús Cenobio-Galindo, Alma Delia Hernández-Fuentes, Uriel González-Lemus, Ana Karen Zaldívar-Ortega, Lucio González-Montiel, Alfredo Madariaga-Navarrete and Iridiam Hernández-Soto
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(13), 6879; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25136879 - 22 Jun 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3616
Abstract
Phytopathogenic fungi are responsible for diseases in commercially important crops and cause major supply problems in the global food chain. Plants were able to protect themselves from disease before humans played an active role in protecting plants. They are known to synthesize a [...] Read more.
Phytopathogenic fungi are responsible for diseases in commercially important crops and cause major supply problems in the global food chain. Plants were able to protect themselves from disease before humans played an active role in protecting plants. They are known to synthesize a variety of secondary metabolites (SMs), such as terpenes, alkaloids, and phenolic compounds, which can be extracted using conventional and unconventional techniques to formulate biofungicides; plant extracts have antifungal activity and various mechanisms of action against these organisms. In addition, they are considered non-phytotoxic and potentially effective in disease control. They are a sustainable and economically viable alternative for use in agriculture, which is why biofungicides are increasingly recognized as an attractive option to solve the problems caused by synthetic fungicides. Currently, organic farming continues to grow, highlighting the importance of developing environmentally friendly alternatives for crop production. This review provides a compilation of the literature on biosynthesis, mechanisms of action of secondary metabolites against phytopathogens, extraction techniques and formulation of biofungicides, biological activity of plant extracts on phytopathogenic fungi, regulation, advantages, disadvantages and an overview of the current use of biofungicides in agriculture. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Studies on Plant and Plant In Vitro Systems Secondary Metabolism)
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