Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Am Mühlenberg 1, Potsdam, 14476, Germany.
Plant J. 2020 Aug;103(4):1275-1288. doi: 10.1111/tpj.14814. Epub 2020 Jul 22.
The great diversity of flowers, their color, odor, taste, and shape, is mostly a result of the metabolic processes that occur in this reproductive organ when the flower and its tissues develop, grow, and finally die. Some of these metabolites serve to advertise flowers to animal pollinators, other confer protection towards abiotic stresses, and a large proportion of the molecules of the central metabolic pathways have bioenergetic and signaling functions that support growth and the transition to fruits and seeds. Although recent studies have advanced our general understanding of flower metabolism, several questions still await an answer. Here, we have compiled a list of open questions on flower metabolism encompassing molecular aspects, as well as topics of relevance for agriculture and the ecosystem. These questions include the study of flower metabolism through development, the biochemistry of nectar and its relevance to promoting plant-pollinator interaction, recycling of metabolic resources after flowers whiter and die, as well as the manipulation of flower metabolism by pathogens. We hope with this review to stimulate discussion on the topic of flower metabolism and set a reference point to return to in the future when assessing progress in the field.
花的多样性，包括它们的颜色、气味、味道和形状，主要是花及其组织发育、生长和最终死亡过程中发生的代谢过程的结果。这些代谢产物中的一些用于向动物传粉者宣传花朵，其他的则提供对非生物胁迫的保护，而中央代谢途径的大部分分子具有支持生长和向果实和种子过渡的生物能量和信号功能。尽管最近的研究提高了我们对花代谢的总体理解，但仍有几个问题有待回答。在这里，我们列出了一系列关于花代谢的开放性问题，涵盖了分子方面以及农业和生态系统相关的主题。这些问题包括通过发育研究花代谢、花蜜的生物化学及其对促进植物-传粉者相互作用的重要性、花变白和凋谢后代谢资源的再循环，以及病原体对花代谢的操纵。我们希望通过这篇综述来激发对花代谢主题的讨论，并在未来评估该领域的进展时，将其作为参考点。
