The review focuses on biosynthetic gene clusters - groups of genes that work together to create these compounds. These chemicals help plants defend themselves, attract beneficial microbes, and adapt to changing conditions.
It is widely believed that genes in complex organisms (such as plants) were randomly arranged. However, biosynthetic gene clusters challenge that idea, demonstrating a highly organised system for producing essential chemicals. The authors explored the latest evidence about these gene clusters, in particular how they are regulated, their ecological importance, and their evolution in the plant kingdom.
Based on their review of the literature, the authors proposed a role for ‘epigenetic’ mechanisms in the regulation and evolution of biosynthetic gene clusters. Epigenetic mechanisms can cause heritable changes in gene activity that do not alter the underlying DNA sequence. Previous research has shown that epigenetic mechanisms allow plants to develop ‘stress memory’, which enables plants to mount a stronger defence reaction to recurrent stress exposure. This memory can be maintained throughout the plant’s lifecycle and in extreme cases even be transmitted to the next generation. The implication that biosynthetic gene clusters are targeted by stress-inducible epigenetic mechanisms is exciting as it suggests they play a role in plant stress memory.
Biosynthetic gene clusters have been implicated in the recruitment and selection of beneficial soil microbes. These microbes enhance nutrient uptake and bolster plant resistance to environmental stressors. A better understanding of the regulation and wider ecological relevance of these gene clusters could have significant benefits for sustainable crop production.
More research into the molecular mechanisms by which biosynthetic gene clusters respond to environment stress and shape the soil microbiome could direct future breeding programmes to generate a new generation of crop varieties with an improved ability to cope with environmental stress and climate change.
Professor Jurriaan Ton
Professor of Plant Environmental Signalling
Such new crop varieties would require fewer fertilisers and pesticides to withstand stresses like drought, pests, and diseases. This would not only contribute to more sustainable crop protection practices, but also reduce the environmental impacts and carbon footprint of farming more generally.