BAHD Company: The Ever-Expanding Roles of the BAHD Acyltransferase Gene Family in Plants

Plants' ability to chemically modify core structures of specialized metabolites is the main reason why the plant kingdom contains such a wide and rich array of diverse compounds. One of the most important types of chemical modifications of small molecules is the addition of an acyl moiety to produce esters and amides. Large-scale phylogenomics analyses have shown that the enzymes that perform acyl transfer reactions on the myriad small molecules synthesized by plants belong to only a few gene families. This review is focused on describing the biochemistry, evolutionary origins, and chemical ecology implications of one of these families-the BAHD acyltransferases. The growth of advancedmetabolomic studies coupled with next-generation sequencing of diverse plant species has confirmed that the BAHD family plays critical roles in modifying nearly all known classes of specialized metabolites. The current and future outlook for research on BAHDs includes expanding their roles in synthetic biology and metabolic engineering.

Automated summary

The ability of plants to chemically modify specialized metabolites is why the plant kingdom has diverse compounds. The addition of an acyl moiety to produce esters and amides is an important chemical modification. Phylogenomics analyses have shown that acyl transfer reactions on small molecules synthesized by plants are performed by enzymes from a few gene families. This review focuses on one of these families, the BAHD acyltransferases, describing their biochemistry, evolutionary origins, and implications in chemical ecology. The BAHD family has critical roles in modifying various specialized metabolites, as confirmed by metabolomic studies and sequencing of plant species. Future research on BAHDs includes their application in synthetic biology and metabolic engineering.