Overexpression of thioredoxin m in chloroplasts alters carbon and nitrogen partitioning in tobacco

In plants, there is a complex interaction between carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) metabolism, and its coordination is fundamental for plant growth and development. Here, we studied the influence of thioredoxin (Trx) m on C and N partitioning using tobacco plants overexpressing Trx m from the chloroplast genome. The transgenic plants showed altered metabolism of C (lower leaf starch and soluble sugar accumulation) and N (with higher amounts of amino acids and soluble protein), which pointed to an activation of N metabolism at the expense of carbohydrates. To further delineate the effect of Trx m overexpression, metabolomic and enzymatic analyses were performed on these plants. These results showed an up-regulation of the glutamine synthetase–glutamate synthase pathway; specifically tobacco plants overexpressing Trx m displayed increased activity and stability of glutamine synthetase. Moreover, higher photorespiration and nitrate accumulation were observed in these plants relative to untransformed control plants, indicating that overexpression of Trx m favors the photorespiratory N cycle rather than primary nitrate assimilation. Taken together, our results reveal the importance of Trx m as a molecular mediator of N metabolism in plant chloroplasts.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ancín, María, Larraya, Luis, Florez-Sarasa, Igor, Bénard, Camille, Fernández San Millán, Alicia, Veramendi, Jon, Gibon, Yves, Fernie, Alisdair R., Aranjuelo, Iker, Farrán, Inmaculada
Other Authors: Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (España)
Format: artículo biblioteca
Language:English
Published: Oxford University Press 2021
Subjects:Carbon metabolism, Chloroplast, Glutamine synthetase, Nitrogen metabolism,
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/253924
http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100003329
http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001665
http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100011033
http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000780
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