Decoding Secondary Metabolism in Horticultural Crops: Insight from Evolution and Domestication

Dear Colleagues,

Horticultural crops include vegetables, fruits, and medicinal and ornamental plants. Some of them are essential components of human diets and serve as the primary source of food nutrients and spices. One of the key players that determines the quality of horticultural crops are the structurally and functionally diverse secondary metabolites (SM) made by plants to mediate environmental interactions. For example, glucosinolates of cruciferous vegetables are produced to deter herbivores, which gives the vegetable unique flavor and antioxidant traits. In another case, the insect-resistance glycoalkaloids accumulated in Solanaceae plants—such as potatoes—pose a health risk if consuming the edible parts inappropriately. Therefore, over the course of evolution and domestication, the metabolic traits of horticultural crops are constantly selected by plant fitness and human preference. Understanding the biosynthesis and diversification of SM in horticultural crops is extremely important for the goal of crop breeding—high commercial value with outstanding stress resistance.

The origin and diversification of specialized metabolism can be traced to primary metabolic pathways—mainly driven by gene duplications followed by the subfunctionalization or neofunctionalization. It makes deciphering the plant metabolic pathways incredibly challenging due to the existence of massive horticultural crop varieties and the lack of integrated genomic and metabolomic datasets. Thanks to recent technological advances in genomics and metabolomics, a growing number of studies emerge that integrate plant metabolic diversity with genetic variation to uncover the evolution of plant SM. Therefore, this proposed Special Issue will highlight studies (including original research papers, perspectives, hypotheses, opinions, reviews, and methods) on the identification, biosynthesis, diversification, and functions of SM in horticultural crops. The studies conducted in the context of crop evolution and domestication are especially welcome.

Dr. Pengxiang Fan
Guest Editor

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• horticultural crop
• vegetable
• fruit
• plant secondary/specialized metabolism
• primary metabolism
• biosynthesis
• diversification
• nutrient
• stress-resistance
• evolution
• domestication
• breeding