Pour some sugar on me: The diverse functions of phenylpropanoid glycosylation

Author(s)

Rates, Arthur de Barros ; Cesarino, Igor

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Journal of Plant Physiology; v. 291, p. 19-pg., 2023-11-25.

Abstract

The phenylpropanoid metabolism is the source of a vast array of specialized metabolites that play diverse functions in plant growth and development and contribute to all aspects of plant interactions with their surrounding environment. These compounds protect plants from damaging ultraviolet radiation and reactive oxygen species, provide mechanical support for the plants to stand upright, and mediate plant-plant and plantmicroorganism communications. The enormous metabolic diversity of phenylpropanoids is further expanded by chemical modifications known as "decorative reactions", including hydroxylation, methylation, glycosylation, and acylation. Among these modifications, glycosylation is the major driving force of phenylpropanoid structural diversification, also contributing to the expansion of their properties. Phenylpropanoid glycosylation is catalyzed by regioselective uridine diphosphate (UDP)-dependent glycosyltransferases (UGTs), whereas glycosyl hydrolases known as beta-glucosidases are the major players in deglycosylation. In this article, we review how the glycosylation process affects key physicochemical properties of phenylpropanoids, such as molecular stability and solubility, as well as metabolite compartmentalization/storage and biological activity/toxicity. We also summarize the recent knowledge on the functional implications of glycosylation of different classes of phenylpropanoid compounds. A balance of glycosylation/deglycosylation might represent an essential molecular mechanism to regulate phenylpropanoid homeostasis, allowing plants to dynamically respond to diverse environmental signals. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 22/12496-0 - Functional characterization of SvUGTs potentially involved in tricin glycosylation in Setaria viridis
• Grantee: Arthur de Barros Rates
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 21/06142-8 - Steering the shikimate/phenylpropanoid pathway: from gene function discovery to green factories
• Grantee: Igor Cesarino
• Support Opportunities: Program for Research on Bioenergy (BIOEN) - Young Investigators Grants - Phase 2