National Key Laboratory for Germplasm Innovation & Utilization of Horticultural Crops, Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Biology (MOE), College of Horticulture and Forestry Sciences, Huazhong Agricultural University , Wuhan 430070, People's Republic of China.
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2024 Nov 18;379(1914):20230366. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2023.0366. Epub 2024 Sep 30.
Purine alkaloids are naturally occurring nitrogenous methylated derivatives of purine nucleotide degradation products, having essential roles in medicine, food and various other aspects of our daily lives. They are generated through convergent evolution in different plant species. The pivotal reaction steps within the purine alkaloid metabolic pathways have been largely elucidated, and the convergent evolution of purine alkaloids has been substantiated through bioinformatic, biochemical and other research perspectives within -adenosyl-ʟ-methionine-dependent -methyltransferases. Currently, the biological and ecological roles of purine alkaloids, further refinement of the purine alkaloid metabolic pathways and the investigation of purine alkaloid adaptive evolutionary mechanisms continue to attract widespread research interest. The exploration of the purine alkaloid metabolic pathways also enhances our comprehension of the biochemical mechanism, providing insights into inter-species interactions and adaptive evolution and offering potential value in drug development and agricultural applications. Here, we review the progress of research in the distribution, metabolic pathway elucidation and regulation, evolutionary mechanism and ecological roles of purine alkaloids in plants. The opportunities and challenges involved in elucidating the biochemical basis and evolutionary mechanisms of the purine alkaloid metabolic pathways, as well as other research aspects, are also discussed. This article is part of the theme issue 'The evolution of plant meta-bolism'.
嘌呤生物碱是嘌呤核苷酸降解产物的天然存在的含氮甲基化衍生物，在医学、食品和我们日常生活的各个方面都具有重要作用。它们是通过不同植物物种的趋同进化产生的。嘌呤生物碱代谢途径中的关键反应步骤已经在很大程度上被阐明，嘌呤生物碱的趋同进化通过生物信息学、生物化学和其他方面的研究得到了证实——腺嘌呤核苷- L-甲硫氨酸依赖性 -甲基转移酶。目前，嘌呤生物碱的生物学和生态学作用、嘌呤生物碱代谢途径的进一步细化以及嘌呤生物碱适应性进化机制的研究继续吸引着广泛的研究兴趣。嘌呤生物碱代谢途径的探索也增强了我们对生化机制的理解，为物种间相互作用和适应性进化提供了新的视角，并为药物开发和农业应用提供了潜在价值。在这里，我们综述了植物中嘌呤生物碱的分布、代谢途径阐明、调控、进化机制和生态作用的研究进展。还讨论了阐明嘌呤生物碱代谢途径的生化基础和进化机制以及其他研究方面的机遇和挑战。本文是主题为“植物代谢进化”的特刊的一部分。
