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Over the past century, early advances in understanding the identity of the chemicals that collectively form a living plant have led scientists to deeper investigations exploring where these molecules localize, how they are made, and why they are synthesized in the first place. Many small molecules are specific to the plant kingdom and have been termed plant secondary metabolites, despite the fact that they can play primary and essential roles in plant structure, development, and response to the environment. The past 100 yr have witnessed elucidation of the structure, function, localization, and biosynthesis of selected plant secondary metabolites. Nevertheless, many mysteries remain about the vast diversity of chemicals produced by plants and their roles in plant biology. From early work characterizing unpurified plant extracts, to modern integration of ‘omics technology to discover genes in metabolite biosynthesis and perception, research in plant (bio)chemistry has produced knowledge with substantial benefits for society, including human medicine and agricultural biotechnology. Here, we review the history of this work and offer suggestions for future areas of exploration. We also highlight some of the recently developed technologies that are leading to ongoing research advances.

Anthocyanins and proanthocyanins (PAs) are two end products of the flavonoid biosynthesis pathway. They are believed to be synthesized in the endoplasmic reticulum and then sequestered into the vacuole. In Arabidopsis thaliana, TRANSPARENT TESTA 19 (TT19) is necessary for both anthocyanin and PA accumulation. Here, we found that MtGSTF7, a homolog of AtTT19, is essential for anthocyanin accumulation but not required for PA accumulation in Medicago truncatula. MtGSTF7 was induced by the anthocyanin regulator LEGUME ANTHOCYANIN PRODUCTION 1 (LAP1), and its tissue expression pattern correlated with anthocyanin deposition in M. truncatula. Tnt1-insertional mutants of MtGSTF7 lost anthocyanin accumulation in vegetative organs, and introducing a genomic fragment of MtGSTF7 could complement the mutant phenotypes. Additionally, the accumulation of anthocyanins induced by LAP1 was significantly reduced in mtgstf7 mutants. Yeast-one-hybridization and dual-luciferase reporter assays revealed that LAP1 could bind to the MtGSTF7 promoter to activate its expression. Ectopic expression of MtGSTF7 in tt19 mutants could rescue their anthocyanin deficiency, but not their PA defect. Furthermore, PA accumulation was not affected in the mtgstf7 mutants. Taken together, our results show that the mechanism of anthocyanin and PA accumulation in M. truncatula is different from that in A. thaliana, and provide a new target gene for engineering anthocyanins in plants.