The project NEPETOME is inspired by the diversity of iridoid compounds within the genus Nepeta, and by their tremendous but underutilized biopesticide potential. Omics-guided approach in disentangling the iridoid diversity within the genus Nepeta enabled us to elucidate the molecular background of this diversity, to facilitate functional characterization of iridoid-related biosynthetic genes, but also pointed to the regulatory mechanisms that drive the overall productivity of plants. The project contributed to unraveling the chemical evolution of iridoids within the genus Nepeta, and provided explanations on why some Nepeta species produce iridoids and others don’t. We took advantages of the gathered knowledge to scale up the production of desired iridoids in planta by conducting multi-target metabolic engineering.