To adapt to their environment, plants have developed many strategies. The most complex, the most intriguing and perhaps the least explored of these strategies is the synthesis of a wide variety of molecules, most of which are associated with specialized metabolism. The composition of specialized metabolite is specific to each botanical family. The ability to synthesize these molecules, often of complex structures, has been acquired during evolution by the development of biosynthetic pathways using cascades of reactions, each of which is catalyzed by a specific enzyme.
Our team identifies and characterizes biosynthetic pathways, focusing on the family of polyphenols (coumarins, furocoumarins, flavonoids, esters of hydroxycinnamic acids, phenolamides). A characteristic of the specialized metabolism is its inducibility. To identify the genes involved in the production of certain molecules, we compare the transcriptomes of tissue producing them with others that do not. We have shown that the same molecule can be produced thanks to mechanisms and enzymes that can differ depending on the species studied. These processes of convergent evolution allow us to bring a new look to the parentage of certain plants.
Lead researchers:
Link to: