In vivo assembly of sorgoleone biosynthetic pathway

Sorgoleone, a hydrophobic compound exuded from root hair cells of Sorghum spp., accounts for much of the allelopathic activity. The enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of this compound have been identified and functionally characterized. To explore the possibility of producing sorgoleone in other species, a multi-gene DNA construct was prepared for the expression of genes required for sorgoleone biosynthesis in planta and deployed in Nicotiana benthamiana leaf tissues via Agrobacterium-mediated transient expression. The production of sorgoleone observed in agroinfiltrated leaves as detected by GC/MS resulted in the formation of necrotic lesions, indicating that the compound possesses significant phytotoxicity to these tissues. RNA-sequencing profiling revealed significant changes in gene expression in the host plant during the formation of sorgoleone-induced necrotic lesions.