Abstract
The natural products cyanogenic glycosides (CNglcs) are present in various forage plant species including Sorghum spp., Trifolium spp., and Lotus spp. The release of toxic hydrogen cyanide (HCN) from endogenous CNglcs, which is known as cyanogenesis, leads to a serious problem for animal consumption while as defensive secondary metabolites, CNglcs play multiple roles in plant development and responses to adverse environment. Therefore, it is highly important to fully uncover the molecular mechanisms of CNglc biosynthesis and regulation to manipulate the contents of CNglcs in forage plants for fine-tuning the balance between defensive responses and food safety. This review summarizes recent studies on the production, function, polymorphism, and regulation of CNglcs in forage plants, aiming to provide updated knowledge on the ways to manipulate CNglcs for further beneficial economic effects.
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Funding
This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 31572457), National 973 Programon Key Basic Research Project (Grant No. 2014CB138701), China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2016M591305), and the Investigation of Forage Germplasms in Central China (Grant No. 2017FY100604).
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Sun, Z., Zhang, K., Chen, C. et al. Biosynthesis and regulation of cyanogenic glycoside production in forage plants. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 102, 9–16 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-017-8559-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-017-8559-z