Ginkgo bilobaL. is one of the most distinctive plants to have emerged on earth and has no close living relatives.

Advances in the role of cytochrome P450s in pharmaceutical terpenoid biosynthesis are reviewed, and different cloning strategies to identify new cytochrome P450 genes in the biosynthesis of natural terpenoids are summarized.

Citrus reticulata cv. Chachiensis (CRC) is an important medicinal plant, its dried mature peels named “Guangchenpi”, has been used as a traditional Chinese medicine to treat cough, indigestion, and lung diseases for several hundred years. However, the biosynthesis of the crucial natural products polymethoxylated flavonoids (PMFs) in CRC remains unclear. Here, we report a chromosome-scale genome assembly of CRC with the size of 314.96 Mb and a contig N50 of 16.22 Mb. Using multi-omics resources, we discover a putative caffeic acid O-methyltransferase (CcOMT1) that can transfer a methyl group to the 3-hydroxyl of natsudaidain to form 3,5,6,7,8,3’,4’-heptamethoxyflavone (HPMF). Based on transient overexpression and virus-induced gene silencing experiments, we propose that CcOMT1 is a candidate enzyme in HPMF biosynthesis. In addition, a potential gene regulatory network associated with PMF biosynthesis is identified. This study provides insights into PMF biosynthesis and may assist future research on mining genes for the biosynthesis of plant-based medicines.

Terpenoid glycosides have significant curative effects on many kinds of diseases. Most of these compounds are derived from medicinal plants. Glycosylation is a key step in the biosynthesis of medicinal terpenoids. In plants, UDP-dependent glycosyltransferases comprise a large family of enzymes that catalyze the transfer of sugars from donor to acceptor to form various bioactive glycosides. In recent years, numerous terpenoid UDP-glycosyltransferases (UGTs) have been cloned and characterized in medicinal plants. We review the typical characteristics and evolution of terpenoid-related UGTs in plants and summarize the advances and research strategies of terpenoid UGTs in medicinal plants over the past 20 years. We provide a reference for the study of glycosylation of terpenoid skeletons and the biosynthetic pathways for medicinal terpenoids in plants.