Plants produce a remarkable spectrum of specialized metabolites that shape ecological interactions with other organisms and enable environmental adaptation. Deciphering the biosynthesis and function of these metabolites can unlock fundamental resources for crop optimization and synthetic biology platforms to advance the production of food and plant-derived pharmaceuticals and other bioproducts.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals
Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription
$32.99 / 30 days
cancel any time
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 digital issues and online access to articles
$119.00 per year
only $9.92 per issue
Rent or buy this article
Prices vary by article type
from$1.95
to$39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
References
Kliebenstein, D. J. & Osbourn, A. Curr. Opin. Plant Biol. 15, 415–423 (2012).
Wurtzel, E. T. & Kutchan, T. M. Science 353, 1232–1236 (2016).
Colinas, M. et al. Nat. Plants https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-025-02122-6 (2025).
Lichman, B. R. Nat. Prod. Rep. 38, 103–129 (2021).
Lichman, B. R. et al. Nat. Chem. Biol. 15, 71–79 (2019).
De Luca, V., Salim, V., Thamm, A., Atsumi Masada, S. & Yu, F. Curr. Opin. Plant Biol. 19, 35–42 (2014).
Geu-Flores, F. et al. Nature 492, 138–142 (2012).
Lichman, B. R. et al. Sci. Adv. 6, eaba0721 (2020).
Dudley, Q. M. et al. Commun. Biol. 5, 949 (2022).
Colinas, M. et al. Nat. Chem. Biol. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41589-025-01926-z (2025).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zerbe, P. The missing link in the iridoid puzzle. Nat. Plants 11, 2189–2191 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-025-02133-3
Published:
Version of record:
Issue date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-025-02133-3
