Editorial: Plant Natural Products: Biosynthesis, Regulation, and Function

Xin Fang^1*Zongxia Yu^2,3Yongjun Wei⁴Boyang Ji⁵

• ¹Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Kunming, China
• ²Lushan Botanical Garden Jiangxi Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences, Jiujiang, China
• ³Lushan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Jiujiang, China
• ⁴Zhengzhou University School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhengzhou, China
• ⁵BioInnovation Institute, Copenhagen, Denmark

Plant natural products, also referred to as plant specialized metabolites, are small molecules synthesized by plants. Throughout history, human have harnessed these compounds for diverse applications, including development of medicines, food supplements, and dyes. In their host organisms, these molecules perform diverse functions, such as mediating pollinators and mycorrhizal fungi interactions, defensing against biotic stresses like herbivores and pathogens, and protecting against abiotic stresses like UV-B radiation, frost, and drought (Dixon & Paiva, 1995).Traditional phytochemical approaches, which typically involve isolating individual metabolites followed by targeted bioassays, have long provided foundational insights into the functions of these compounds. However, given the immense chemical diversity of plant natural products, estimated to exceed one million distinct structures (Afendi et al., 2012), these conventional methods are ill-suited for exploring the full metabolic landscape. The emergence of metabolomics has transformed this paradigm by enabling comprehensive, high-throughput analysis of hundreds to thousands of metabolites simultaneously, thereby offering unprecedented capacity to decipher metabolic functions. Moreover, due to these compounds are often minute quantities in planta, elucidating the biosynthetic pathways and regulatory networks that govern specialized metabolites is critical. Such understanding facilitates the development of synthetic biology strategies to heterologous production of these compounds in engineered organisms. This Special Issue, entitled "Plant Natural Products: Biosynthesis, Regulation, and Function," features 14 original research articles, one review, and one opinion piece from authors worldwide.Collectively, these contributions highlight cutting-edge discoveries across all aspects of plant specialized metabolism, from molecular mechanisms to ecological significance.Metabolomics has emerged as a powerful tool for deciphering the dynamic chemical diversity of plants, offering insights into species-specific metabolites, developmental stage variations, and environmental responses. This approach is crucial due to the high specificity and contextual variability of plant natural products, necessitating comprehensive analyses across diverse species, To date, our knowledge of the biosynthesis and regulation of specialized metabolites across various plant species remains limited. This Research Topic significantly advances the knowledge framework for integrated approach to understanding the production and functions of plant natural products. We hope this collection can serve as a landmark reference for future research in the field.