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Article|28 Feb 2022|OPEN
Grafting: a potential method to reveal the differential accumulation mechanism of secondary metabolites
Ding Dong1,2,3 , Ya-Na Shi4 and Zong-Min Mou1,2,5 , Sui-Yun Chen1,2,5 , Da-Ke Zhao,1,5 ,
1Biocontrol Engineering Research Center of Plant Disease and Pest, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650504, China
2Biocontrol Engineering Research Center of Crop Disease and Pest, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650504, China
3School of Life Science, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650204, China
4Institute of Medicinal Plants, Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Kunming, 650000, China
5School of Ecology and Environmental Science, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650504, China
*Corresponding author. E-mail: zhaodk2012@ynu.edu.cn

Horticulture Research 9,
Article number: uhac050 (2022)
doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/hr/uhac050
Views: 451

Received: 04 Oct 2021
Accepted: 14 Feb 2022
Published online: 28 Feb 2022

Abstract

Plant secondary metabolites make a great contribution to the agricultural and pharmaceutical industries. Their accumulation is determined by the integrated transport of target compounds and their biosynthesis-related RNA, protein, or DNA. However, it is hard to track the movement of these biomolecules in vivo. Grafting may be an ideal method to solve this problem. The differences in genetic and metabolic backgrounds between rootstock and scion, coupled with multiple omics approaches and other molecular tools, make it feasible to determine the movement of target compounds, RNAs, proteins, and DNAs. In this review, we will introduce methods of using the grafting technique, together with molecular biological tools, to reveal the differential accumulation mechanism of plant secondary metabolites at different levels. Details of the case of the transport of one diterpene alkaloid, fuziline, will be further illustrated to clarify how the specific accumulation model is shaped with the help of grafting and multiple molecular biological tools.