Ahrazem Oussama, Rubio-Moraga Angela, Nebauer Sergio G, Molina Rosa Victoria, Gómez-Gómez Lourdes
Instituto Botánico, Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnologı́a Agroforestal y Genética, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha , Campus Universitario s/n, 02071 Albacete, Spain.
Fundación Parque Cientı́fico y Tecnológico de Castilla-La Mancha , Campus Universitario s/n, 02071 Albacete, Spain.
J Agric Food Chem. 2015 Oct 14;63(40):8751-64. doi: 10.1021/acs.jafc.5b03194. Epub 2015 Oct 2.
The present state of knowledge concerning developmental processes and the secondary metabolism of saffron, Crocus sativus L. (Iridaceae), along with the genes involved in these processes so far known, is reviewed. Flowers and corms constitute the most valuable parts of saffron. Corm and flower development are two key aspects to be studied in saffron to increase the yield and quality of the spice, to raise its reproductive rate, and to implement new production systems. Important knowledge about the physiology of flowering and vegetative growth has been acquired in recent years, but there is still only limited information on molecular mechanisms controlling these processes. Although some genes involved in flower formation and meristem transition in other species have been isolated in saffron, the role of these genes in this species awaits further progress. Also, genes related with the synthesis pathway of abscisic acid and strigolactones, growth regulators related with bud endodormancy and apical dominance (paradormancy), have been isolated. However, the in-depth understanding of these processes as well as of corm development is far from being achieved. By contrast, saffron phytochemicals have been widely studied. The different flower tissues and the corm have been proved to be an important source of phytochemicals with pharmacological properties. The biotechnological prospects for saffron are here reviewed on the basis of the discovery of the enzymes involved in key aspects of saffron secondary metabolism, and we also analyze the possibility of transferring current knowledge about flowering and vegetative propagation in model species to the Crocus genus.
本文综述了藏红花（番红花，鸢尾科）发育过程和次生代谢的现有知识，以及目前已知的参与这些过程的基因。花和球茎是藏红花最有价值的部分。球茎和花的发育是藏红花研究中的两个关键方面，对于提高香料的产量和质量、提高其繁殖率以及实施新的生产系统至关重要。近年来，人们已经获得了关于开花和营养生长生理的重要知识，但关于控制这些过程的分子机制的信息仍然有限。尽管在藏红花中已经分离出了一些在其他物种中参与花形成和分生组织转变的基因，但这些基因在该物种中的作用仍有待进一步研究。此外，与脱落酸和独脚金内酯合成途径相关的基因也已被分离出来，脱落酸和独脚金内酯是与芽内休眠和顶端优势（旁休眠）相关的生长调节剂。然而，对这些过程以及球茎发育的深入理解仍远未实现。相比之下，藏红花的植物化学物质已经得到了广泛研究。不同的花组织和球茎已被证明是具有药理特性的植物化学物质的重要来源。本文基于藏红花次生代谢关键方面所涉及酶的发现，综述了藏红花的生物技术前景，并且我们还分析了将模式物种中有关开花和营养繁殖的现有知识应用于番红花属的可能性。
