Transcriptional regulation of secondary plant product biosynthesis: insights into flavonoid, alkaloid, and terpenoid pathways

Plants synthesize a variety of secondary metabolites during specific developmental stages across different tissues and organs. These metabolites fall into three primary classes: alkaloids, terpenoids, and phenolic compounds. They play crucial roles in plant development, serving as protectants against UV radiation, defensive agents against pathogens, structural components of the cell wall, and pigments that facilitate plant-pollinator interactions. Numerous studies have also highlighted the health benefits of these metabolites for humans. Secondary metabolite biosynthesis is a multiplex process that involves several intermediate processes, regulatory variables, and enzymes. Research reveals that a wide range of transcription factors control the genes that encode the enzymes involved in the manufacture of metabolites. These transcription factors influence gene expression, which in turn regulates the production and accumulation of secondary metabolites by combining developmental and environmental inputs. The mechanism of regulation entails the attachment of transcription factors to distinct cis-elements present in the promoters of genes that are accountable for the synthesis of certain metabolites. The recent research on transcription factors controlling the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites is compiled in this review.