Secretory Structures

Project Goals:..............Elucidating the physiology and biochemistry of anatomical structures that evolved to accumulate secretions
Funding:......................Department of Energy - Energy Biosciences Program
Collaborators:.............Gregg Howe - Michigan State University
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Executive Summary

Secretory structures in terrestrial plants appear to have first emerged as intracellular oil bodies in liverworts. In vascular plants, internal secretory structures, such as resin ducts and laticifers, are usually found in conjunction with vascular bundles, whereas subepidermal secretory cavities and epidermal glandular trichomes generally have more complex tissue distribution patterns. The primary function of plant secretory structures is related to defense responses, both constitutive and induced, against herbivores and pathogens. The ability to sequester secondary (or specialized) metabolites and defense proteins in secretory structures was a critical adaptation that shaped plant-herbivore and plant-pathogen interactions. We are using integrative approaches - which include anatomical measurements and statistical analyses, physiological studies, transcriptomics/proteomics/metabolomics - to generate input data for mathematical models that capture flux distribution across primary and specialized metabolism.

Online databases and toolkits

YASMEnv - A set of tools to create and analyze stoichiometric metabolic models.

Mint Genomics Resource - Database for all aspects of research on the mint family

Selected Recent Publications

Lange B.M., Zager J.J. (2022) Comprehensive inventory of cannabinoids in Cannabis sativa L.: Can we connect genotype and chemotype?. Phytochem. Rev ., in press. Link

Sugimoto K., Zager J.J., St Aubin B.S., Lange B.M., Howe G.A. (2022) Flavonoid deficiency disrupts redox homeostasis and terpenoid biosynthesis in glandular trichomes of tomato. Plant Physiol. 188, 1450-1568.

Srividya N., Lange I., Richter J.K., Wüst M., Lange B.M. (2022) Selectivity of enzymes involved in the formation of opposite enantiomeric series of p-menthane monoterpenoids in peppermint and Japanese catnip. Plant Sci. 314, 111119.

Chen Z., Vining K.J., Qi X., Yu X., Zheng Y., Liu Z., Fang H., Li L., Bai,Y., Liang C., Li W. , Lange B.M. (2021) Genome-wide analysis of terpene synthase gene family in Mentha longifolia and catalytic activity analysis of a single terpene synthase. Genes 12, 518.

Liu C., Gao Q., Shang Z., Liu J., Zhou S., Dang J., Liu L., Lange I., Srividya N., Lange B.M., Wu Q., Lin W. (2021) Functional characterization and structural insights into stereoselectivity of pulegone reductase in menthol biosynthesis. Front. Plant Sci. 12, 780970.

Liu L., Yin M., Lin G., Wang Q., Zhou P., Dai S., Sang M., Labge B.M., Liu C., Wu Q. (2021) Integrating RNA-seq with functional expression to analyze the regulation and characterization of genes involved in monoterpenoid biosynthesis in Nepeta tenuifolia Briq., Plant Physiol. Biochem. 167, 31-41.

Lange B.M. (2020) Flux distribution at the interface of central carbon metabolism and terpenoid volatile formation. In Biology of Plant Volatiles, Eran Pichersky, Natalia Dudareva, Eds., CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, pp. 119-164. Link

Zager J.J., Lange I., Srividya N., Smith A., Lange B.M. (2019) Gene networks underlying cannabinoid and terpenoid accumulation in cannabis. Plant Physiol. 180, 1877-1897.

Lange B.M., Srividya N. (2019) Enzymology of monoterpene functionalization in glandular trichomes. J. Exp. Bot., 70, 1095-1108.

Turner G.W., Parrish A.N., Zager J.J., Fischedick J.T., Lange B.M. (2019) Assessment of flux through oleoresin biosynthesis in epithelial cells of loblolly pine resin ducts. J. Exp. Bot. 70, 217-230.

Zager J.J., Lange B.M. (2018) Assessing flux distribution associated with metabolic specialization of glandular trichomes. Trends Plant Sci. 23, 638-647.

Liu C., Srividya N., Parrish A.N., Yue W., Shan M., Wu Q., Lange B.M. (2018) Morphology of glandular trichomes of Japanese catnip (Schizonepeta tenuifolia Briquet) and developmental dynamics of their secretory activity. Phytochemistry 150, 23-30.

Johnson S.R., Lange I., Srividya N., Lange B.M. (2017) Bioenergetics of monoterpenoid essential oil biosynthesis in non-photosynthetic glandular trichomes. Plant Physiol. 175, 681-695.

Turner G.W., Lange B.M. (2015) Ultrastructure of grapefruit secretory cavities and immunocytochemical localization of (+)-limonene synthase. Int. J. Plant Sci., 176, 643-661. Link

Lange B.M. (2015) The evolution of plant secretory structures and emergence of terpenoid chemical diversity. Annu. Rev. Plant Biol. 66, 139-159.