Transgenesis and Secondary Metabolism

Abstract

Bioactive molecules available in plants are largely inaccessible to modern synthesis methods. Most of the commercially valuable substances are still extracted directly from plants, which are under pressure from human harvesting. The ultimate goal of this book is to provide an insight into the various biotechnological approaches currently undertaken globally to find alternative methods for production of natural secondary metabolites to ensure that global biodiversity is preserved so that the resources that could considerably benefit mankind are not lost. Plant genetic mani- pulations in relation to synthesis, accumulation, and production of secondary meta- bolites have been well investigated in large number of species around the world. The chapters thus focus on case studies as well as original research reviews in genetic and biotechnological approaches to enhance the production of given metabolite or a group of related compounds. The book also includes chapters on indirect genetic approaches to improve metabolite production including Agrobacterium mediated transformations as well as metabolic engineering of the relevant biosynthetic path- ways, overexpression of genes encoding key enzymes, metabolic phytochemistry, and molecular pharming. We hope that the book will be useful for researchers in academia and industry. The book is intended to serve the needs of graduate students, scholars, and researchers in the field of botany, agriculture, pharmacy, biotechnology, and phyto- chemistry; industrial scientists; and those involved in marketing phytochemicals and their extracts. Finally, I would like to acknowledge all our contributors who have made immense efforts to ensure the scientific quality of this book. I am grateful to Dr. David Alan Tepfer for agreeing to write a chapter based on his lifetime experi- ences and sharing them with us. I thank Dr. K.G. Ramawat for constant encourage- ment. We thank all our colleagues at Springer for excellent support. Sumita