Studying Plant Secondary Metabolism in the Age of Genomics

Collectively plants produce an enormous diversity of secondary metabolites. In the genomics age, the study of plant secondary metabolite biosynthesis has been transformed by various genomic tools. The field of metabolomics is continuingly adding novelty and complexity to our information on the chemistry of plant secondary metabolism. The availability of whole-genome sequences for an ever-increasing list of plants enables our examination of the genomic basis of secondary metabolite production. By integrating large-scale sequencing/bioinformatics, metabolomics, transcriptomics, proteomics and in vitro biochemistry, functional genomics holds the promise of expediting functional characterization of genes of plant secondary metabolism. Overall, the increasing volume of biochemical knowledge about plant metabolism, together with the genetic and molecular tools generated in recent years, paves the way for rationally designed, more effective genetic engineering of plant secondary metabolism for enhanced plant defense, improved quality and production of valuable chemicals, and many other applications.