Ph.D. Program in Plant Molecular Biology

Friday Seminar by Ms. Kanwaljeet Kaur


GKP Lab/ Friday/ Friday 16, 2018/ 3.30 pm/ Sweets as sugar transporter
Category: Research

 

 

SWEETs as sugar transporter

 

 Kanwaljeet Kaur

 

Population growth is expected to lead to an increasing need for rice production. Rice grains are composed mainly of starch, which derives from imported soluble carbohydrates. These carbohydrates are produced and delivered from leaves (source tissues) to caryopses (sink tissues) via the phloem. Despite the relevance of seed-filling mechanisms for crop yield, we still have only a rudimentary understanding of the transport processes that supply the caryopsis with sugars. The sucrose and glucose transport activities of some SWEETs were identified in human and animal cells and SWEETs also have role in grain filling in plants, although its detailed cell specificity yet to be determined. Authors hypothesized that SWEET sucrose transporters may play important roles in nutrient import pathways in the rice caryopsis.
 

References:

 

  • Ma Lai, Zhang DC, Miao QS, Yang J, Xuan Y, Hu Y. (2017). Essential Role of Sugar Transporter OsSWEET11 during the Early Stage of Rice Grain Filling. Plant and Cell Physiology. 58. 10.1093/pcp/pcx040.
  • Yang J, Lou D, Yang B, Frommer W, Eom Sr. JS. (2018). SWEET11 and 15 as key players in  seed filling in rice. New Phytologist. doi: 10.1111/nph.15004.