Can Arabidopsis make complex alkaloids?
Alkaloids are a large group of secondary metabolites with diverse biosynthetic origins and limited taxonomic distribution. They are generally defined by the occurrence of a nitrogen atom in an oxidative state within a heterocyclic ring. Homologues for many enzymes involved in alkaloid biosynthesis have been detected in the Arabidopsis genome, in spite of the apparent lack of complex alkaloids in this plant. The most common homologues are putative genes encoding decorative enzymes such as hydroxylases, methyltransferases and acetyltransferases. Nevertheless, the recent discovery that Arabidopsis produces volatile terpenoids, coupled with the multitude of alkaloid biosynthetic gene homologues, lends credibility to the suggestion that undiscovered alkaloids are also present in this plant.
