Microbial cell factories may help get to the root of understudied plant molecules

A team of researchers co-led by the University of California San Diego has developed a method to produce a special class of plant hormones, known as strigolactones, at unprecedented levels using microbial cell factories. By amplifying the production of strigolactones, the researchers now have the ability to study these scarce and mysterious plant molecules in much greater depth than before.