Advances in studies on transcription factors in regulation of secondary metabolites in Chinese medicinal plants

The active ingredients of many Chinese medicinal plants are secondary metabolites, which exhibit pharmaceutical value. In the metabolism process of secondary metabolites, transcription factors play important roles in regulating a series of genes in the metabolic pathway, thereby regulating the direction and the speed of metabolic flow. Therefore, the intervention of transcription factor by genetic engineering is an important method to regulate secondary metabolism in Chinese medicinal plants. This article summarizes the functions and regulatory mechanism of transcription factors had been studied in secondary metabolites of Chinese medicinal plants, which will help researchers in-depth understand the metabolism network of secondary metabolites, further improve the quality of Chinese medicinal plants.