title: Learning from nature: new approaches to the metabolic engineering of plant defense pathways.
abstract: Biotechnological manipulation of plant defense pathways can increase crop resistance to herbivores and pathogens while also increasing yields of medicinal, industrial, flavor and fragrance compounds. The most successful achievements in engineering defense pathways can be attributed to researchers striving to imitate natural plant regulatory mechanisms. For example, the introduction of transcription factors that control several genes in one pathway is often a valuable strategy to increase flux in that pathway. The use of multi-gene cassettes which mimic natural gene clusters can facilitate coordinated regulation of a pathway and speed transformation efforts. The targeting of defense pathway genes to organs and tissues in which the defensive products are typically made and stored can also increase yield as well as defensive potential.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Hans-Knöll-Strasse 8, D-07745 Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jirschitzka
authors.forename: Derek Joseph
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Mattern
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gershenzon
authors.forename: John Charles
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: D'Auria
mesh_terms: D001709:Biotechnology; D060847:Metabolic Engineering; D005810:Multigene Family / Q000235:genetics; D016254:Mutagenesis, Insertional; D057865:Plant Immunity / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D010944:Plants / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D014157:Transcription Factors