Abstract
Plant growth and carbon metabolism are closely associated since carbohydrate in the form of sucrose generated by photosynthesis, provides the primary source of building blocks and energy for the production and maintenance of biomass. Regulation of carbon partitioning between source and sink tissues is important because it has a vast influence on both plant growth and development. The regulation of carbon partitioning at the whole plant level is directly linked to the cellular pathways of assimilate transport and the metabolism and allocation of sugars, mainly sucrose and hexoses in source leaves, and sink organs such as roots and fruit. By using tomato plant as a model, this review documents and discusses our current understanding of source–sink interactions from molecular to physiological perspectives focusing on those that regulate the growth and development of both vegetative and reproductive organs. It furthermore discusses the impact that environmental conditions play in maintenance of this balance in an attempt to address the link between physiological and ecological aspects of growth.
Highlights
The partitioning and allocation of carbon (C) is intimately connected to plant growth since the export of carbohydrate from photosynthesizing leaves provides the substrate for the growth and maintenance of non-photosynthetic tissues
For this purpose we focus on recent development in tomato, which as well as being an important horticultural crop is a model for research on source–sink interactions and competition
We briefly provide evidence that assimilate partitioning plays a central role in balancing photosynthetic activity in the leaves with photoassimilate utilization and storage in sink
Summary
The partitioning and allocation of carbon (C) is intimately connected to plant growth since the export of carbohydrate from photosynthesizing leaves provides the substrate for the growth and maintenance of non-photosynthetic tissues. Through photosynthesis plants can highly efficiently convert CO2 into 3phosphoglyceric acid and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate leading to the biosynthesis of sugars as well as terpenoids and fatty acids This fixed carbon is transformed into reserve molecules, which can be broken down at a later time to provide the cell with ATP, reducing power, and carbon skeletons, which support a number of physiological functions including growth. In order to fully understand the relationship between photoassimilate partitioning and growth, we need to consider three important key steps, (1) production of photoassimilates (source capacity), (2) transport of photoassimilates, and (3) utilization of photoassimilates in sink organs (Figure 1) This brief review highlights the role of carbohydrate transport and metabolism in plant growth and its perspective in altering agronomic yield. For this purpose we focus on recent development in tomato, which as well as being an important horticultural crop is a model for research on source–sink interactions and competition
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