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Developing an Understanding of Organic Acid Metabolism in Plants

A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Natural Products Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2022) | Viewed by 11804

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, Waite Campus, The University of Adelaide, Glen Osmond, SA 5064, Australia
Interests: grapevine metabolism; organic acids; tartaric acid; plant specialized metabolism; glucosyltransferase enzymes

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Guest Editor
College of Science & Engineering, Flinders University, GPO Box 5100, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia
Interests: plant stress metabolism; plant mitochondria; grapevines; alternative oxidase

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Organic acids (OAs) are key to many of the metabolic activities in plants, with pivotal roles in pathways of primary and specialized metabolism. Their accumulation is also often associated with the value of the plant as a crop; for instance, the palatability and sensory properties of fruits are frequently associated with organic acid composition. Many OAs are fundamental to the major pathways of primary metabolism. They are formed as hexose sugars, are progressively oxidized, and are often the branchpoints for intersecting metabolic outcomes. Other OAs have critical roles in plant responses to stresses—ascorbic acid is one example, while the physiological role of others such as tartaric acid remains to be determined.

This Special Issue on ‘Developing an Understanding of Organic Acid Metabolism in Plants’ welcomes original research and reviews on any area of plant metabolism in which organic acids may be viewed as performing a fundamental role. We are especially interested in the applications of proteomics, metabolomics, glycomics, and flux modeling, given the often transient nature of the occurrence of these compounds within the plant cell. Additionally, as our understanding of the structure–function relationship grows, we are keen to publish work that provides insights into the often exquisite specificity and selectivity of the enzymes associated with OA metabolism across all organelles of the plant.

Dr. Christopher Ford
Dr. Crystal Sweetman
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • organic acids
  • primary metabolism
  • specialized (secondary) metabolism
  • redox signaling
  • fruit composition
  • photosynthesis and photorespiration
  • respiration
  • carbohydrate metabolism

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Review

13 pages, 1389 KiB  
Review
Malate Transport and Metabolism in Nitrogen-Fixing Legume Nodules
by Nicholas J. Booth, Penelope M. C. Smith, Sunita A. Ramesh and David A. Day
Molecules 2021, 26(22), 6876; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26226876 - 15 Nov 2021
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 4073
Abstract
Legumes form a symbiosis with rhizobia, a soil bacterium that allows them to access atmospheric nitrogen and deliver it to the plant for growth. Biological nitrogen fixation occurs in specialized organs, termed nodules, that develop on the legume root system and house nitrogen-fixing [...] Read more.
Legumes form a symbiosis with rhizobia, a soil bacterium that allows them to access atmospheric nitrogen and deliver it to the plant for growth. Biological nitrogen fixation occurs in specialized organs, termed nodules, that develop on the legume root system and house nitrogen-fixing rhizobial bacteroids in organelle-like structures termed symbiosomes. The process is highly energetic and there is a large demand for carbon by the bacteroids. This carbon is supplied to the nodule as sucrose, which is broken down in nodule cells to organic acids, principally malate, that can then be assimilated by bacteroids. Sucrose may move through apoplastic and/or symplastic routes to the uninfected cells of the nodule or be directly metabolised at the site of import within the vascular parenchyma cells. Malate must be transported to the infected cells and then across the symbiosome membrane, where it is taken up by bacteroids through a well-characterized dct system. The dicarboxylate transporters on the infected cell and symbiosome membranes have been functionally characterized but remain unidentified. Proteomic and transcriptomic studies have revealed numerous candidates, but more work is required to characterize their function and localise the proteins in planta. GABA, which is present at high concentrations in nodules, may play a regulatory role, but this remains to be explored. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Developing an Understanding of Organic Acid Metabolism in Plants)
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18 pages, 7578 KiB  
Review
Gluconeogenesis in Plants: A Key Interface between Organic Acid/Amino Acid/Lipid and Sugar Metabolism
by Robert P. Walker, Zhi-Hui Chen and Franco Famiani
Molecules 2021, 26(17), 5129; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26175129 - 24 Aug 2021
Cited by 36 | Viewed by 7018
Abstract
Gluconeogenesis is a key interface between organic acid/amino acid/lipid and sugar metabolism. The aims of this article are four-fold. First, to provide a concise overview of plant gluconeogenesis. Second, to emphasise the widespread occurrence of gluconeogenesis and its utilisation in diverse processes. Third, [...] Read more.
Gluconeogenesis is a key interface between organic acid/amino acid/lipid and sugar metabolism. The aims of this article are four-fold. First, to provide a concise overview of plant gluconeogenesis. Second, to emphasise the widespread occurrence of gluconeogenesis and its utilisation in diverse processes. Third, to stress the importance of the vacuolar storage and release of Krebs cycle acids/nitrogenous compounds, and of the role of gluconeogenesis and malic enzyme in this process. Fourth, to outline the contribution of fine control of enzyme activity to the coordinate-regulation of gluconeogenesis and malate metabolism, and the importance of cytosolic pH in this. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Developing an Understanding of Organic Acid Metabolism in Plants)
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