Discovery of an isoflavone biosynthetic pathway in Iridaceae plants
Isoflavones, characterized by their distinctive C6-C3-C6 skeleton, represent an important class of plant secondary metabolites with considerable pharmacological and physiological relevance. Although their biosynthetic pathways have been extensively elucidated in Fabaceae species, the molecular mechanisms governing isoflavone production in other plant families remain largely unexplored. Herein, we uncovered an isoflavone biosynthetic pathway in Iridaceae plants. Notably, it involves an uncharacterized CYP736D family isoflavone synthase, a non-CYP450 (iso)flavone 6-hydroxylase, two cation-dependent type I O-methyltransferases, and a newly identified CYP75F isoflavone 3'-hydroxylase. Evolutionary analyses revealed that Iridaceae have retained an ancient and conserved isoflavone biosynthetic pathway, potentially representing a prototypical route in land plants. In contrast, soybean utilizes a specialized pathway unique to Fabaceae. Our findings not only resolve a long-standing gap in our understanding of isoflavone biosynthesis in Iridaceae plants, but also provide insights into the independent evolutionary trajectory of isoflavone biosynthetic mechanisms in Iridaceae and Fabaceae.
Authors
- Xin‐Guang Zhu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4435-130X)
- Jian Bai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1496-5749)
- Lian‐Wen Qi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0728-4475)
- Mei Tian (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1587-2114)
- X L
- Minjian Qin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8539-7649)
- Yucheng Zhao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8962-5212)
- Yixuan Zhong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7474-0536)
- Sun L
- Y Sophia Dai
- Guoyong Xie
- Yan Zhu
- Xinyu Shi
- Huihui Zeng
- Shuai Li
- Xiang Zhang
Institutions
- John Innes Centre (GB)
- Shenyang Pharmaceutical University (CN)
- China Pharmaceutical University (CN)
- Bengbu Medical College (CN)
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College (CN)
- Beijing Botanical Garden (CN)
- Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences (CN)
- Beijing Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences (CN)
- Institute of Botany (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2026-06-26
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-74916-x
- Primary Topic
- Phytoestrogen effects and research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Chinese Academy of Sciences
- China Pharmaceutical University
- China Scholarship Council
- Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine
- State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines
- Southern University of Science and Technology
- Chengdu University