Orchestration of carbohydrate processing for crassulacean acid metabolism

Abstract

The production of phosphoenolpyruvate as a substrate for nocturnal CO2 uptake represents a significant sink for carbohydrate in CAM plants which has to be balanced with the provisioning of carbohydrate for growth and maintenance. In starch-storing CAM species, diversification in chloroplast metabolite transporters, and the deployment of both phosphorolytic and hydrolytic routes of starch degradation accommodate a division of labour in directing C-skeletons towards nocturnal carboxylation or production of sucrose for growth. In soluble-sugar storing CAM plants, the vacuole plays a central role in managing carbon homeostasis. The molecular identities of various types of vacuolar sugar transporters have only been identified for C3 species within the last 10 years. The recent availability of CAM genomes enables the identification of putative orthologues of vacuolar sugar transporters which represent strategic targets for orchestrating the diel provisioning of substrate for nocturnal carboxylation and growth.