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Digging into rice diterpenoid biosynthesis

Rice (Oryza sativa) is an important crop plant whose susceptibility to disease can critically impact food security. Among the means by which rice resists microbial pathogens is the production of diterpenoid phytoalexins, although the importance of such natural products biosynthesis is not fully understood. My group has taken a systematic approach towards elucidating both the underlying metabolic network and the physiological relevance of the resulting diterpenoids. Our work on diterpenoid metabolism has been based on the extensive sequence information available for rice (i.e., functional genomics), and includes the discovery of relevant biosynthetic gene clusters, as well as development of a synthetic biology approach in which we reconstitute rice metabolic pathways in E. coli, relying on the use of synthetic genes for functional incorporation of cytochrome P450 mono‐oxygenases. Based on our comprehensive map for the early steps mediated by diterpene synthase in rice metabolism, we also are now taking a reverse genetic approach towards elucidating the biological function of the resulting diterpenoid natural products, including the application of genome editing technology. Our most recent results will be discussed.