A million shades of green: understanding and harnessing plant metabolic diversity

Recent developments in single-cell -omic and metabolite imaging technologies and the increasing availability of high-quality genome assemblies are having a transformative impact on the way research is carried out into plant specialised metabolism. Integrating these technologies into pathway discovery projects is therefore highly advantageous. Here, we present a general introduction into methods and workflows in specialised metabolism research. We review a range of recent methodologies, highlighting what they might be used for and common pitfalls which may be encountered. Finally, we provide a practical guide on how these technologies may be incorporated into a specialised metabolic pathway discovery pipeline for researchers who are new to the field.