Methylthioalkylmalate synthases: genetics, ecology and evolution

Glucosinolates display an enormous amount of structural variation, both within and between species. This diversity is thought to have evolved in response to challenges imposed on plants by their biotic environment. During the past decade, glucosinolates and myrosinase-catalyzed glucosinolate hydrolysis have become excellent examples for understanding functional diversification in plant secondary metabolism and plant defence. Methylthioalkylmalate (MAM) synthase genes and enzymes are central to the diversification of aliphatic glucosinolate structures in Arabidopsis thaliana and related plants. This review summarizes efforts to elucidate how MAM-mediated diversity in aliphatic glucosinolate structures is generated and maintained. It also attempts to put variability in methionine carbon chain elongation during glucosinolate biosynthesis into an ecological and evolutionary context.