plants Review Flavonoids and Isoflavonoids Biosynthesis in the Model Legume Lotus japonicus; Connections to Nitrogen Metabolism and Photorespiration Margarita García-Calderón 1, Carmen M. Pérez-Delgado 1, Peter Palove-Balang 2, Marco Betti 1 and Antonio J. Márquez 1,* 1 Departamento de Bioquímica Vegetal y Biología Molecular, Facultad de Química, Universidad de Sevilla, Calle Profesor García González, 1, 41012-Sevilla, Spain;
[email protected] (M.G.-C.);
[email protected] (C.M.P.-D.);
[email protected] (M.B.) 2 Institute of Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Science, P.J. Šafárik University in Košice, Mánesova 23, SK-04001 Košice, Slovakia;
[email protected] * Correspondence:
[email protected]; Tel.: +34-954557145 Received: 28 April 2020; Accepted: 18 June 2020; Published: 20 June 2020 Abstract: Phenylpropanoid metabolism represents an important metabolic pathway from which originates a wide number of secondary metabolites derived from phenylalanine or tyrosine, such as flavonoids and isoflavonoids, crucial molecules in plants implicated in a large number of biological processes. Therefore, various types of interconnection exist between different aspects of nitrogen metabolism and the biosynthesis of these compounds. For legumes, flavonoids and isoflavonoids are postulated to play pivotal roles in adaptation to their biological environments, both as defensive compounds (phytoalexins) and as chemical signals in symbiotic nitrogen fixation with rhizobia. In this paper, we summarize the recent progress made in the characterization of flavonoid and isoflavonoid biosynthetic pathways in the model legume Lotus japonicus (Regel) Larsen under different abiotic stress situations, such as drought, the impairment of photorespiration and UV-B irradiation. Emphasis is placed on results obtained using photorespiratory mutants deficient in glutamine synthetase.