Journal of Plant Science and Biotechnology

ABSTRACT

Secondary metabolites in horticultural crops encompass a wide array of bioactive compounds that are crucial for plant defense and contribute to flavor, color, aroma, and human health benefits. Increasing demand for plant derived natural products in the pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, cosmetic, and food industries has intensified research aimed at optimizing their production and extraction. Conventional cultivation methods, which depend on field-grown plants, are constrained by slow growth, seasonal fluctuations, and low metabolite yields. In contrast, biotechnological approaches provide efficient alternatives for enhancing secondary metabolite accumulation. Metabolic engineering enables targeted modification of biosynthetic pathways through gene overexpression, gene silencing, and the introduction of heterologous genes. Elicitation strategies stimulate defense-related metabolic pathways in response to biotic and abiotic factors. This review critically examines recent progress in both approaches for horticultural crops and explores integrated strategies that combine metabolic pathway engineering with elicitor-mediated induction. The review also highlights the application of omics technologies and CRISPR/Cas-based genome editing. Future directions underscore the potential of synthetic biology and systems-level modeling to achieve predictable and sustainable engineering of secondary metabolite biosynthesis in horticultural crops.

Keywords: Secondary Metabolites; Metabolic Engineering; Elicitation; Omics Technologies; CRISPR/Cas