ABSTRACT
Anthraquinone and its derivatives are very important secondary metabolites in plants. They have many functions such as photoprotection and improvement of plant disease resistance. They also have very important applications in the fields of medicine and chemical engineering. Efficiently and quickly obtaining anthraquinones and improving the synthesis efficiency of anthraquinones in plants have become one of the research focuses of modern synthetic biology. However, the synthetic pathway of anthraquinones is more complicated. At present, it is generally believed that anthraquinones are formed in plants by the shikimic acid/o- succinylbenzoic acid pathway and polyketone pathway. This article focuses on the recent research advances in the skeleton synthesis of anthraquinone via shikimic acid/o-succinylbenzoic acid pathway and polyketone pathway in plants, and provides a certain theoretical basis for studying the synthesis and regulation of anthraquinone metabolites in plants.