Small molecules present large opportunities in plant biology

Abstract

Since the introduction of chemical genomics to plant biology as a tool for basic research, the field has advanced significantly. There are now examples of important basic discoveries that demonstrate the power and untapped potential of this approach. Given the combination of protein and small-molecule complexity, new phenotypes can be described through the perturbation of cellular functions that can be linked to growth and developmental phenotypes. There are now clear examples of overcoming functional redundancy in plants to dissect molecular mechanisms or critical pathways such as hormone signaling and dynamic intracellular processes. Owing to ongoing advances, including more sophisticated high-content screening and rapid approaches for target identification, the field is beginning to move forward. However, there are also challenges to improve automation, imaging, and analysis and provide chemical biology resources to the broader plant biology community.