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Bioactive Compounds from Plants: Synthesis, Activities and Functions
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Bioactive Compounds from Plants: Synthesis, Activities and Functions

A Special Issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747) belonging to the section "Phytochemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2026 | Viewed by 1725

Editors

Dr. Zhigang Han

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Forestry and Biotechnology, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou 311300, China
Interests: biosynthesis of natural products; genome evolution; enzyme modification
Dr. Qiong Yu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor Assistant
State Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
Interests: forest trees; epigenetics; biochemistry; natural products; biosynthesis

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Plant natural products, especially bioactive specialized metabolites, underpin a wide range of applications in the pharmaceutical, agricultural, food, and cosmetic industries. Their biosynthesis is orchestrated by complex enzymatic networks that are shaped by evolutionary history and responsive to genetic, developmental, and environmental cues. Deciphering these pathways, their regulation, and their diversification across plant lineages is fundamental to improving the yield, stability, and functionality of plant-derived bioactive compounds.

This Special Issue, ‘Bioactive Compounds from Plants: Synthesis, Activities and Functions’, aims to provide an integrated view of plant natural products from gene to molecule to application. We welcome original research and high-quality reviews that explore the following topics: (i) elucidation of biosynthetic and regulatory pathways; (ii) evolution and diversification of bioactive metabolites; and (iii) innovative applications and modes of action of plant-derived compounds in health, agriculture, and industry. Contributions that employ cutting-edge approaches in genomics, artificial intelligence, structural biology, metabolic engineering, and synthetic biology are particularly encouraged. Studies on emerging model and non-model species are also welcome.

By bringing together researchers from diverse fields, including botany, biochemistry, molecular biology, genetics, systems biology, and chemical or biochemical engineering, this Special Issue seeks to advance mechanistic understanding and foster the development of sustainable, scalable strategies for the discovery, production, and utilization of plant bioactive compounds.

Dr. Zhigang Han
Guest Editor

Dr. Qiong Yu
Guest Editor Assistant

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Plants is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • natural products
  • biosynthesis
  • evolution
  • bioactivity
  • bioengineering
  • applications

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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18 pages, 5988 KB  
Article
Molecular Insights into RrMYB5 Promote Flavonoid Accumulation in Rosa roxburghii
by Linfang Zhang, Linlu Si, Mao Wu, Xiaolong Huang and Huiqing Yan
Plants 2026, 15(16), 2428; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants15162428 - 9 Aug 2026
Viewed by 335
Abstract
Rosa roxburghii Tratt is characterized by its abundant flavonoid content. However, the mechanisms underlying MYB-mediated regulation of flavonoid biosynthesis in R. roxburghii remain largely unknown. In this study, we found that flavonoid accumulation was markedly higher in fruits. By WGCNA of differentially expressed [...] Read more.
Rosa roxburghii Tratt is characterized by its abundant flavonoid content. However, the mechanisms underlying MYB-mediated regulation of flavonoid biosynthesis in R. roxburghii remain largely unknown. In this study, we found that flavonoid accumulation was markedly higher in fruits. By WGCNA of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) with flavonoid accumulation profiles, we identified RrMYB5 as a key regulatory factor in flavonoid biosynthesis of R. roxburghii. RrMYB5 contained characteristic R2R3 domains and a conserved PA1-type motif YEEYLQALL. It was localized exclusively to the nucleus. The qRT-PCR analysis showed that RrMYB5 was constitutively expressed, with peak expression occurring at the rapid fruit expansion stage. The total soluble flavonoid accumulation in R. roxburghii calli was substantially increased by overexpression of RrMYB5. Further LC–MS-based metabolomic analysis revealed significant enrichment of flavonols and proanthocyanidins in RrMYB5-OE calli. Consistently, the transcript levels of RrLAR (Rr404249) and RrANR (Rr300417) were markedly elevated in RrMYB5-overexpressing calli. Moreover, DAP-seq analysis suggested that RrMYB5 might directly bind the promoters of flavonoid structural genes. Subsequent yeast one-hybrid and dual-luciferase assays confirmed that RrFLS (Rr101307) and RrF3H (Rr306546) were direct downstream targets of RrMYB5. These findings indicated that RrMYB5 promoted the expression of flavonol and flavanol biosynthetic genes through different regulatory routes. Thus, our study elucidates the regulatory role of RrMYB5 in flavonoid biosynthesis and provides a valuable molecular target for improving the quality and utilization of R. roxburghii. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioactive Compounds from Plants: Synthesis, Activities and Functions)
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Review

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16 pages, 7700 KB  
Review
Toward Sustainable Paclitaxel Bioproduction: Plant Biology, Biosynthesis and Platform Engineering
by Meng Zhang, Xing Xing and Hongliang Zhu
Plants 2026, 15(11), 1741; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants15111741 - 4 Jun 2026
Viewed by 956
Abstract
Paclitaxel (Taxol), a taxane diterpenoid from Taxus species, is a clinically important microtubule-stabilizing anticancer agent widely used in chemotherapy. However, its supply remains limited by precursor scarcity and the molecule’s structural complexity. The biosynthetic pathway from geranylgeranyl diphosphate (GGPP) to paclitaxel is estimated [...] Read more.
Paclitaxel (Taxol), a taxane diterpenoid from Taxus species, is a clinically important microtubule-stabilizing anticancer agent widely used in chemotherapy. However, its supply remains limited by precursor scarcity and the molecule’s structural complexity. The biosynthetic pathway from geranylgeranyl diphosphate (GGPP) to paclitaxel is estimated to involve 19 to 23 enzymatic steps. Recent multi-omics approaches have substantially elucidated this pathway, yet key mechanistic questions persist, notably the formation of the oxetane ring. Complete heterologous biosynthesis is further hampered by poor cytochrome P450 (CYP) expression in non-native hosts and insufficient metabolic flux. This review synthesizes advances across four themes: (1) progressive elucidation of the biosynthetic pathway, with emphasis on the CYP-mediated oxygenation cascade and oxetane ring formation; (2) genomic and regulatory insights from Taxus genome assemblies, transcription factor networks, and spatial multi-omics; (3) metabolic engineering in microbial hosts, including Escherichia coli, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and non-conventional chassis; and (4) plant-based heterologous production platforms. Critical bottlenecks are identified, including unresolved enzymatic steps, CYP functional expression, flux partitioning, and bioprocess scale-up. Strategies to overcome these challenges are discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioactive Compounds from Plants: Synthesis, Activities and Functions)
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