Key message

Seed coats as commodities.

Abstract

Seed coats play important roles in the protection of the embryo from biological attack and physical damage by the environment as well as dispersion strategies. A significant part of the energy devoted by the mother plant to seed production is channeled into the production of the cell layers and metabolites that surround the embryo. Nevertheless, in crop species these are often discarded post-harvest and are a wasted resource that could be processed to yield co-products. The production of novel compounds from existing metabolites is also a possibility. A number of macromolecules are already accumulated in these maternal layers that could be exploited in industrial applications either directly or via green chemistry, notably flavonoids, lignin, lignan, polysaccharides, lipid polyesters and waxes. Here, we summarize our knowledge of the in planta biosynthesis pathways of these macromolecules and their molecular regulation as well as potential applications. We also outline recent work aimed at providing further tools for increasing yields of existing molecules or the development of novel biotech approaches, as well as trial studies aimed at exploiting this underused resource.

中文翻译：

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种皮可以替代分子工厂：跳出框框思考。

关键信息

种皮作为商品。

抽象

种皮在保护胚胎免受环境和分散策略的生物学攻击和物理损害中起着重要作用。母本植物用于种子生产的能量的很大一部分被引导到围绕胚胎的细胞层和代谢产物的生产中。然而，在作物物种中，这些往往在收获后被丢弃，是一种浪费的资源，可以加工成副产品。由现有代谢产物生产新化合物也是可能的。这些母体层中已经积累了许多大分子，可以直接或通过绿色化学用于工业应用，尤其是类黄酮，木质素，木脂素，多糖，脂质聚酯和蜡。在这里，我们总结一下我们对这些大分子在植物中的生物合成途径及其分子调控以及潜在应用。我们还概述了最近的工作，旨在为增加现有分子的产量或开发新的生物技术方法提供进一步的工具，以及旨在开发这种未充分利用的资源的试验研究。