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Amino acid transporters mediate amino acid transport within and between cells and are the main mediators of nitrogen distribution in plants, which is crucial for maintaining plant growth and development. Many amino acid transporters have been identified in different plant species. In this review, we discuss the functions of amino acid transporters in plant absorption and amino acid transportation from root to shoot, which results in crop yield and quality improvement. Moreover, we summarize the role of amino acid transporters in response to environmental stimuli and the influence of N and C metabolic processes. We also elaborate on potential future research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Temperature affects plant growth and geographical distribution. Cold stress occurs when temperatures fall below the physiologically optimal range for plants, causing permanent and irreversible damage to plant growth, development, and production. Brassinosteroids (BRs) are steroid hormones that play an important role in plant growth and various stress responses. Recent studies have shown that low temperatures affect BR biosynthesis in many plant species and that BR signaling is involved in the regulation of plant tolerance to low temperatures, both in the CBF-dependent and CBF-independent pathways. These two regulatory pathways correspond to transient and acclimation responses of low temperature, respectively. The crosstalk between BRs and other hormones is a significant factor in low-temperature tolerance. We provide an overview of recent developments in our knowledge of BRs' function in plant responses to cold stress and how they interact with other plant hormones in this review. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

L-galactono-1, 4-lactone dehydrogenase (GLDH) is an important enzyme that catalyzes the last step of the ascorbate biosynthetic pathways in plants. A full-length cDNA clone encoding GLDH was isolated from potato (Solanum tuberosum L. ‘Favorita’) leaf and subcloned into a binary vector, pBI121, to construct sense and antisense recombinant plant expression vectors. The recombinants were introduced into potato via Agrobacterium-mediated transformation, and plants were confirmed as transgenic using PCR and quantitative real-time PCR. Two anti-sense potato lines (G1 and G2) and three sense lines (G3, G4 and G5) were obtained. The GLDH activity of G4 and G5 were increased in vivo. Moreover, the ascorbic acid (AsA) and dehydroascorbate (DHA) contents were up-regulated in both leaves and tubers. However, the shoots of G1 were suppressed and its leaves were deformed. Additionally, the AsA contents in G1 leaves and tubers decreased by 28.8% and 10.3%, respectively. The GLDH activity in leaves treated with L-galactono-1,4-lactone (L-GalL) increased in all lines, as did the AsA and DHA contents. These results indicate that GLDH activity plays an important role in regulating the AsA level as well as the growth and development of potato plants.

BASIC PENTACYSTEINE (BPCs) transcription factors are important regulators of plant growth and development. However, the regulatory mechanism of BPC2 in roots remains unclear. In our previous study, we created Csbpc2 cucumber mutants by the CRISPR/Cas9 system, and our studies on the phenotype of Csbpc2 mutants showed that the root growth was inhibited compared with wide‐type (WT). Moreover, the surface area, volume and number of roots decreased significantly, with root system architecture changing from dichotomous branching to herringbone branching. Compared with WT, the leaf growth of the Csbpc2 mutants was not affected. However, the palisade and spongy tissue were significantly thinner, which was not beneficial for photosynthesis. The metabolome of root exudates showed that compared with WT, amino acids and their derivatives were significantly decreased, and the enriched pathways were mainly regulated by amino acids and their derivatives, indicating that knockout of CsBPC2 mainly affected the amino acid content in root exudates. Importantly, transcriptome analysis showed that knockout of CsBPC2 mainly affected root gene expression. Knockout of CsBPC2 significantly reduced the gene expression of gibberellins synthesis. However, the expression of genes related to amino acid synthesis, nitrogen fixation and PSII‐related photosynthesis increased significantly, which may be due to the effect of knocking out CsBPC2 on gibberellins synthesis, resulting in the inhibition of seedling growth, thus forming negative feedback regulation. Generally, we showed for the first time that BPC2 is a key regulator gene of root growth and development, laying the foundation for future mechanisms of BPC2 regulation in roots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant G protein γ subunits have multiple functions in growth and development processes and in abiotic stress responses. Few functions of Gγ in horticultural crops have been revealed thus far. In this study, the potential function of CsGG3.1-2, one of the two alternative splice variants of Gγ gene CsGG3.1 in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.), was investigated using transgenic plants overexpressing antisense CsGG3.1-2 under the control of the 35S promoter. The tolerance to chilling stress in transgenic plants was significantly decreased. Cold stress-related physiological parameters and the expression of CBFs and their downstream target genes were then measured. Compared with WT, the maximum efficiency of photosystem II (Fv/Fm), antioxidative enzymes activities, soluble protein, and proline accumulation decreased significantly in transgenic plants treated with cold stress, whereas the malonaldehyde (MDA) content increased. However, the overexpression of antisense CsGG3.1-2 did not affect the induction of cold-inducible genes. Quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) analysis showed the increased expression of CBF genes and their downstream target genes in transgenic plants, suggesting that CsGG3.1-2 affects cold responses via CBF-independent pathways in cucumber. At the same time, the sucrose and fructose contents decreased in transgenic plants under both normal and cold conditions. These findings suggest that soluble sugar deficiency is associated with chilling sensitivity in transgenic plants, and CsGG3.1-2 may have a role in regulating carbohydrate metabolism in cucumber. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]