Evidence for the monophyletic evolution of benzylisoquinoline alkaloid biosynthesis in angiosperms.

Benzylisoquinoline alkaloids (BIAs) consist of more than 2500 diverse structures largely restricted to the order Ranunculales and the eumagnoliids. However, BIAs also occur in the Rutaceae, Lauraceae, Cornaceae and Nelumbonaceae, and sporadically throughout the order Piperales. Several of these alkaloids function in the defense of plants against herbivores and pathogens--thus the capacity for BIA biosynthesis is expected to play an important …