Amino Acid Translocation, Transport and Transporters in Plants

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2020) | Viewed by 26869

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
Interests: amino acid transporters in plants; amino acid metabolism in plants; regulation of amino acid and nitrogen homeostasis

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Amino acids play a central role in plant metabolism, standing at the crossroad between carbohydrate metabolism, nitrogen assimilation, and synthesis of secondary metabolites. In addition, amino acids are used by plants both as a reduced nitrogen storage form and reduced nitrogen carriers, translocated between the various plant organs through xylem and phloem.

Despite the essential roles of amino acid transporters in the metabolic pathways, in transfer between the cell compartments, and in distribution of amino acids throughout the plant, comparatively little is known concerning their function and regulation, possibly caused by their diversity and the inherent difficulty to study their functional properties. Much is to be unraveled to advance our understanding of how plants control reduced nitrogen allocation between the various organelles and organs, in response to the many input cells need to integrate to optimize growth and reproduction. In recent years, the study of amino acid transporters and transport in plants has attracted more attention, especially in rice and Arabidopsis, with discoveries linking them to grain nutritious quality and plant pathology. Increased understanding of the multiple roles of plant amino acid transporters will enable targeted strategies to improve crop that will better manage nitrogen input, have increased or decreased protein content in storage organs, and defend more efficiently against pathogens.

This Special Issue of Plants will highlight the function, regulation, evolution, and diversity of plant amino acid transporters, to characterize their role in basic plant physiology and during interaction with the environment or other organisms.

Prof. Guillaume Pilot
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • amino acid transporters
  • amino acid translocation
  • membrane transport
  • metabolism and plant nutrition
  • crop improvement

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 2603 KiB  
Article
The Arabidopsis L-Type Amino Acid Transporter 5 (LAT5/PUT5) Is Expressed in the Phloem and Alters Seed Nitrogen Content When Knocked Out
by Rowshon A. Begam, Jayne D’Entremont and Allen Good
Plants 2020, 9(11), 1519; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants9111519 - 9 Nov 2020
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2286
Abstract
The Arabidopsis L-type Amino Acid Transporter-5 (LAT5; At3g19553) was recently studied for its role in developmental responses such as flowering and senescence, under an assumption that it is a polyamine uptake transporter (PUT5). The LATs in Arabidopsis have a wide range of substrates, [...] Read more.
The Arabidopsis L-type Amino Acid Transporter-5 (LAT5; At3g19553) was recently studied for its role in developmental responses such as flowering and senescence, under an assumption that it is a polyamine uptake transporter (PUT5). The LATs in Arabidopsis have a wide range of substrates, including amino acids and polyamines. This report extensively studied the organ and tissue-specific expression of the LAT5/PUT5 and investigated its role in mediating amino acid transport. Organ-specific quantitative RT-PCR detected LAT5/PUT5 transcripts in all organs with a relatively higher abundance in the leaves. Tissue-specific expression analysis identified GUS activity in the phloem under the LAT5/PUT5 promoter. In silico analysis identified both amino acid transporter and antiporter domains conserved in the LAT5/PUT5 protein. The physiological role of the LAT5/PUT5 was studied through analyzing a mutant line, lat5-1, under various growth conditions. The mutant lat5-1 seedlings showed increased sensitivity to exogenous leucine in Murashige and Skoog growth medium. In soil, the lat5-1 showed reduced leaf growth and altered nitrogen content in the seeds. In planta radio-labelled leucine uptake studies showed increased accumulation of leucine in the lat5-1 plants compared to the wild type when treated in the dark prior to the isotopic feeding. These studies suggest that LAT5/PUT5 plays a role in mediating amino acid transport. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Amino Acid Translocation, Transport and Transporters in Plants)
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19 pages, 3397 KiB  
Article
Transcriptome-Wide Analysis of Nitrogen-Regulated Genes in Tea Plant (Camellia sinensis L. O. Kuntze) and Characterization of Amino Acid Transporter CsCAT9.1
by Xinwan Zhang, Hongling Liu, Elizabeth Pilon-Smits, Wei Huang, Pu Wang, Mingle Wang, Fei Guo, Yu Wang, Ruiyuan Li, Hua Zhao and Dejiang Ni
Plants 2020, 9(9), 1218; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants9091218 - 17 Sep 2020
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 2890
Abstract
The vigor of tea plants (Camellia sinensis) and tea quality are strongly influenced by the abundance and forms of nitrogen, principally NO3, NH4+, and amino acids. Mechanisms to access different nitrogen sources and the regulatory [...] Read more.
The vigor of tea plants (Camellia sinensis) and tea quality are strongly influenced by the abundance and forms of nitrogen, principally NO3, NH4+, and amino acids. Mechanisms to access different nitrogen sources and the regulatory cues remain largely elusive in tea plants. A transcriptome analysis was performed to categorize differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in roots and young leaves during the early response to four nitrogen treatments. Relative to the continuously nitrogen-replete control, the three nitrogen-deprived and resupplied treatments shared 237 DEGs in the shoots and 21 DEGs in the root. Gene-ontology characterization revealed that transcripts encoding genes predicted to participate in nitrogen uptake, assimilation, and translocation were among the most differentially expressed after exposure to the different nitrogen regimes. Because of its high transcript level regardless of nitrogen condition, a putative amino acid transporter, TEA020444/CsCAT9.1, was further characterized in Arabidopsis and found to mediate the acquisition of a broad spectrum of amino acids, suggesting a role in amino acid uptake, transport, and deposition in sinks as an internal reservoir. Our results enhance our understanding of nitrogen-regulated transcript level patterns in tea plants and pinpoint candidate genes that function in nitrogen transport and metabolism, allowing tea plants to adjust to variable nitrogen environments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Amino Acid Translocation, Transport and Transporters in Plants)
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Review

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17 pages, 1054 KiB  
Review
Amino Acid Transporters in Plants: Identification and Function
by Xuehui Yao, Jing Nie, Ruoxue Bai and Xiaolei Sui
Plants 2020, 9(8), 972; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants9080972 - 31 Jul 2020
Cited by 74 | Viewed by 10565
Abstract
Amino acid transporters are the main mediators of nitrogen distribution throughout the plant body, and are essential for sustaining growth and development. In this review, we summarize the current state of knowledge on the identity and biological functions of amino acid transporters in [...] Read more.
Amino acid transporters are the main mediators of nitrogen distribution throughout the plant body, and are essential for sustaining growth and development. In this review, we summarize the current state of knowledge on the identity and biological functions of amino acid transporters in plants, and discuss the regulation of amino acid transporters in response to environmental stimuli. We focus on transporter function in amino acid assimilation and phloem loading and unloading, as well as on the molecular identity of amino acid exporters. Moreover, we discuss the effects of amino acid transport on carbon assimilation, as well as their cross-regulation, which is at the heart of sustainable agricultural production. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Amino Acid Translocation, Transport and Transporters in Plants)
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17 pages, 790 KiB  
Review
Amino Acid Transporters in Plant Cells: A Brief Review
by Guangzhe Yang, Qiuxing Wei, Hao Huang and Jixing Xia
Plants 2020, 9(8), 967; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants9080967 - 30 Jul 2020
Cited by 70 | Viewed by 10252
Abstract
Amino acids are not only a nitrogen source that can be directly absorbed by plants, but also the major transport form of organic nitrogen in plants. A large number of amino acid transporters have been identified in different plant species. Despite belonging to [...] Read more.
Amino acids are not only a nitrogen source that can be directly absorbed by plants, but also the major transport form of organic nitrogen in plants. A large number of amino acid transporters have been identified in different plant species. Despite belonging to different families, these amino acid transporters usually exhibit some general features, such as broad expression pattern and substrate selectivity. This review mainly focuses on transporters involved in amino acid uptake, phloem loading and unloading, xylem-phloem transfer, import into seed and intracellular transport in plants. We summarize the other physiological roles mediated by amino acid transporters, including development regulation, abiotic stress tolerance and defense response. Finally, we discuss the potential applications of amino acid transporters for crop genetic improvement. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Amino Acid Translocation, Transport and Transporters in Plants)
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