How Plants Synthesize Pyrethrins: Safe and Biodegradable Insecticides. (December 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Lybrand, Daniel B.; Xu, Haiyang; Last, Robert L.; Pichersky, Eran
• Is Part Of: Trends in plant science. Volume 25:Number 12(2020)
• Page Start: 1240
• Page End: 1251
• Publication Date: 2020-12
• Subjects: pyrethrins -- Tanacetum cinerariifolium -- trichomes -- natural insecticides -- specialized metabolism; Botany -- Periodicals; Botanique -- Périodiques; Botany; Periodicals; 580.5
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tplants.2020.06.012
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1360-1385

Abstract

Abstract : Natural pyrethrin insecticides produced by Dalmatian pyrethrum ( Tanacetum cinerariifolium ) have low mammalian toxicity and short environmental persistence, providing an alternative to widely used synthetic agricultural insecticides that pose a threat to human health and the environment. A recent surge of interest in the use of pyrethrins as agricultural insecticides coincides with the discovery of several new genes in the pyrethrin biosynthetic pathway. Elucidation of this pathway facilitates efforts to breed improved pyrethrum varieties and to engineer plants with improved endogenous defenses or hosts for heterologous pyrethrin production. We describe the current state of knowledge related to global pyrethrum production, the pyrethrin biosynthetic pathway and its regulation, and recent efforts to engineer the pyrethrin pathway in diverse plant hosts. Highlights: Pyrethrin insecticides produced by Tanacetum cinerariifolium provide a human-safe and ecologically sound alternative to widely used synthetic insecticides. The development of transcriptomic and genomic resources for T. cinerariifolium facilitated the elucidation of numerous steps in the pyrethrin biosynthetic pathway. Pyrethrin biosynthetic genes have been engineered into diverse plant hosts; these efforts demonstrate the promise of engineering plants with improved endogenous defenses or of the development of an alternative source to pyrethrins for use as insecticides.