Ginkgo biloba L.: a model plant for studing biflavonoids bioactivity and biosynthesis

The plant kingdom produces an overwhelming number of structurally diverse specialised metabolites. One of the less studied groups of specialised metabolites are flavonoid dimers known as biflavonoids, which consist of two identical or non-identical flavonoid units. They exhibit higher bioactivity than their monomeric subunits and are considered potential drugs in the pharmaceutical industry and potential antioxidants and antimicrobials in the food industry. However, it remains unclear why some plant species produce dimeric structures of flavonoids, under what conditions, and what role biflavonoids play in plant growth and development. In our project, we address such limitations by studying biflavonoids in Ginkgo biloba L., a so-called "living fossil" and a plant widely used in traditional medicine. It is one of the most characteristic plants. It possesses a number of fascinating characteristics, including a large genome, outstanding resistance/tolerance to abiotic and biotic stresses, and dioecious reproduction, making it an ideal model species for biological studies. Its great tolerance to adverse environmental conditions is demonstrated by the fact that Ginko trees growing within 1-2 kilometres of Hiroshima since the atomic bomb explosion in 1945 were among the few living things in the area that survived the blast and were soon healthy again. This poster will provide an overview of the structure and biological activity of biflavonoids and explain why G. biloba is an ideal model for studying biflavonoids. We will also present the preliminary results of the recently launched project "Biflavonoids role in plants: Ginkgo biloba L. as a model system", funded by the Croatian Science Foundation (HRZZ- UIP-2019-04-1018).