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Charting Angiosperm Chemistry: Evolutionary Perspective on Specialized Metabolites Reflected in Chemical Property Space
journal contribution
posted on 2019-03-26, 19:08 authored by Astrid Henz Ryen, Anders BacklundPlants possess an outstanding chemical
diversity of specialized
metabolites developed to adapt to environmental niches and increase
fitness. The observed diversity is hypothesized to result from various
evolutionary mechanisms, such as the continuous branching off and
extension of existing biosynthetic pathways or enhanced levels of
catalytic promiscuity in certain enzymes. In this study, ChemGPS-NP
has been employed to chart the distribution and diversity of physicochemical
properties for selected types of specialized metabolites from the
angiosperms. Utilizing these charts, it is analyzed how different
properties of various types of specialized metabolites change in different
plant groups, and the chemical diversity from the volume they occupy
in chemical property space is evaluated. In this context, possible
underlying evolutionary mechanisms are discussed, which could explain
the observed distribution and behavior in chemical property space.
Based on these studies, it is demonstrated that evolutionary processes
in plant specialized metabolism and the resultant metabolic diversification
are reflected in chemical property space.