Production and transcriptional regulation of proanthocyanidin biosynthesis in forage legumes.

Proanthocyanidins (PA), also known as condensed tannins, contribute to important forage legumes traits including disease resistance and forage quality. PA in forage plants has both positive and negative effects on feed digestibility and animal performance. The analytical methods and their applicability in measuring the contents of PA in forage plants are essential to studies on their nutritional effects. In spite of important breakthroughs in our understanding of the PA biosynthesis, important questions still remain to be answered such as the PA polymerization and transport. Recent advances in the understanding of transcription factor-mediated gene regulation mechanisms in anthocyanin and PA biosynthetic pathway in model plants suggest new approaches for the metabolic engineering of PA in forage plants. The present review will attempt to present the state-of-the-art of research in these areas and provide an update on the production and metabolic engineering of PA in forage plants. We hope that this will contribute to a better understanding of the ways in which PA production to manipulate the content of PA for beneficial effects in forage plants.