ABSTRACT
Biochemical Pathways (AraCyc)................................................. 192 5.8.2 Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG).................................................. 193 5.8.3 Dragon Plant Biology Explorer (DPBE) ........................................................................ 193
5.9 Conclusions .................................................................................................................................. 194 References .............................................................................................................................................. 195
Traditionally, natural product research has been approached from a chemical point of view, where the primary goal is to identify the chemical structure of a specific compound. It is only relatively recently that the field of molecular biology has begun to take footing as a critical collection of techniques required for a broad understanding of the processes of natural product biosynthesis. Modern molecular techniques, such as high-throughput screens, more sensitive detection methods, and improved instrumentation for purification and structural elucidation, have paved the way for a better understanding of the plant
metabolome
, the totality of the metabolite complement of plants. Many metabolites and natural products isolated from higher plants and microorganisms have been studied for their roles in cellular biochemistry and physiology as well as for providing novel, clinically active drugs.
