View into plant cells: A membrane protein is targeted to two locations
Monday, June 8, 2020 - 06:40
in Biology & Nature
Metabolic processes are especially complex in plants due to their obligate sessile lifestyle, and scientists are discovering new and surprising connections that occur within plant cells. An important metabolic route that has occupied plant scientists for decades is the so-called oxidative pentose-phosphate pathway by which carbohydrates are converted to reduction power. For this pathway, two membrane proteins play an important role—GPT1 and GPT2. They import activated glucose in the form of glucose-6-phosphate into plastids, special cell organelles of plants, to feed the oxidative pentose-phosphate pathway. This process is also important for plant reproduction, especially during pollen, ovule and seed development.