Diversity and Distribution of Terpenoids in Bryophytes and Chemosystematic Uses

Among the three lineages of bryophytes, liverworts exhibit a wide variety of terpenoid fingerprints. Terpenoids are abundant in the oil bodies of liverworts. Hornworts and mosses are also reported to contain sesqui-, di-, and triterpenoids, although they lack oil bodies. Overall, the abundance of sesquiterpenoids is much greater than that of other types of terpenoid compounds. The occurrence of triterpenoids is very low. Terpenoids found in higher plants are detected in Marchantiophyta in their enantiomeric forms, with a few exceptions. Organic chemists discovered many di- and sesquiterpenoids with interesting carbon skeletons. Bryophytes possess microbial terpene synthase-like enzymes that are different from typical plant terpene synthases. Original research articles and high-quality reviews were extracted from Google Scholar, PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Scopus using the keywords “terpenoid diversity”, “terpenoid and chemosystematics”, “terpenoids of bryophytes”, “oil bodies”, “terpene synthase”, “microbial terpene synthase-like enzymes”, and “genomics and terpenoid research progress” to prepare this review. Only the literature published in the English language was considered. This review focused on the terpenoid diversity of bryophytes, including chemosystematics uses, as well as the varying carbon skeletons of terpenoids. Oil body biogenesis and evolution, along with the terpene biosynthesis pathway and related enzymes, are briefly covered. The emergent area of multi-omics approaches may bridge the gap that exists in this field and will also open up future avenues for the use of Marchantia polymorpha or Physcomitrella patens as an efficient tool for specific and valuable terpenoid production.