Beyond Tanacetum cinerariifolium: Advances in Pyrethrins Biosynthesis and Prospects for Engineered Cell Factories

Pyrethrins are powerful natural insecticides traditionally extracted from the flowers of Tanacetum cinerariifolium. While effective and environmentally friendly, their agricultural production is limited by genetic variability, environmental factors, and labor-intensive cultivation. Advances in understanding the pyrethrin biosynthetic pathway, including the discovery and heterologous synthesis of key enzymes, have created new opportunities to rethink production methods. This review covers current knowledge of pyrethrin biosynthesis, focusing on precursor pathways and the challenges that hinder their heterologous production. We also discuss the remaining gaps and how synthetic biology and metabolic engineering can solve these issues. By shifting the focus from traditional flower farming to engineered cell factories, we suggest a new approach for achieving scalable, consistent, and sustainable pyrethrin production.