biostudies-literatureLichman BRNational Institute of Food and AgricultureUK Research and InnovationNational Science Foundationeaba0721https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC7220310biostudies-literatureUnknown6(20)Catnip or catmint (<i>Nepeta</i> spp.) is a flowering plant in the mint family (Lamiaceae) famed for its ability to attract cats. This phenomenon is caused by the compound nepetalactone, a volatile iridoid that also repels insects. Iridoids are present in many Lamiaceae species but were lost in the ancestor of the Nepetoideae, the subfamily containing <i>Nepeta</i>. Using comparative genomics, ancestral sequence reconstructions, and phylogenetic analyses, we probed the re-emergence of iridoid biosynthesis in <i>Nepeta</i>. The results of these investigations revealed mechanisms for the loss and subsequent re-evolution of iridoid biosynthesis in the <i>Nepeta</i> lineage. We present evidence for a chronology of events that led to the formation of nepetalactone biosynthesis and its metabolicScience advancesThe evolutionary origins of the cat attractant nepetalactone in catnip.PMC7220310MICL02431MR/S01862X/1IOS-1444499Kamileen MOVaillancourt BO'Connor SEHamilton JPGodden GTKinser TJSun MSoltis DEDudareva NSoltis PSHenry LKZhao DLichman BRPalmer LWood JCRodriguez-Lopez CBuell CRfalseThe evolutionary origins of the cat attractant nepetalactone in catnip.Catnip or catmint (<i>Nepeta</i> spp.) is a flowering plant in the mint family (Lamiaceae) famed for its ability to attract cats. This phenomenon is caused by the compound nepetalactone, a volatile iridoid that also repels insects. Iridoids are present in many Lamiaceae species but were lost in the ancestor of the Nepetoideae, the subfamily containing <i>Nepeta</i>. Using comparative genomics, ancestral sequence reconstructions, and phylogenetic analyses, we probed the re-emergence of iridoid biosynthesis in <i>Nepeta</i>. The results of these investigations revealed mechanisms for the loss and subsequent re-evolution of iridoid biosynthesis in the <i>Nepeta</i> lineage. We present evidence for a chronology of events that led to the formation of nepetalactone biosynthesis and its metabolic2020-01-01T00:00:00Z2020 May2025-04-04T19:04:46.029Z2020-05-23T07:06:34ZS-EPMC72203103242650510.1126/sciadv.aba0721