Skip Navigation



JXB Advance Access published online on June 18, 2003
Journal of Experimental Botany, doi:10.1093/jxb/erg196
© 2003 by Oxford University Press
This Article
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
54/389/1813    most recent
erg196v1
Right arrow E-letters: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Baxter, C. J.
Right arrow Articles by Quick, W. P.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Baxter, C. J.
Right arrow Articles by Quick, W. P.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Baxter, C. J.
Right arrow Articles by Quick, W. P.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Received December 17, 2002; accepted April 16, 2003
© 2003 Society for Experimental Biology

RESEARCH PAPER

Elevated sucrose-phosphate synthase activity in transgenic tobacco sustains photosynthesis in older leaves and alters development

Charles J. Baxter 1*, Christine H. Foyer 2, Janice Turner 2, Stephen A. Rolfe 1, and W. Paul Quick 1

1 Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK
2 Crop Performance and Improvement Division, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Hertfordshire AL5 2JQ, UK

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: charles.baxter{at}plants.ox.ac.uk.


  Abstract

Constitutive over-expression of a maize sucrose-phosphate synthase (SPS) gene in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) had major effects on leaf carbohydrate budgets with consequences for whole plant development. Transgenic tobacco plants flowered earlier and had greater flower numbers than wild-type plants. These changes were not linked to modified source leaf carbon assimilation or carbon export, although sucrose to starch ratios were significantly higher in leaves expressing the transgene. The youngest and oldest leaves of plants over-expressing SPS had up to 10-fold wild-type maximal extractable SPS activity, but source leaf SPS activities were only 2-3 times greater in these lines than in the wild type. In the oldest leaves, where the expression of the transgene led to the most marked enhancement in SPS activity, photosynthesis was also increased. It was concluded that these increases in the capacity for sucrose synthesis and carbon assimilation, particularly in older leaves, accelerate the whole plant development and increase the abundance of flowers without substantial changes in the overall shoot biomass.

Key words: Carbon partitioning, flowering, photosynthesis, plant development, sucrose-phosphate synthase.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Tree PhysiolHome page
J.-Y. Park, T. Canam, K.-Y. Kang, F. Unda, and S. D. Mansfield
Sucrose phosphate synthase expression influences poplar phenology
Tree Physiol, July 1, 2009; 29(7): 937 - 946.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Plant CellHome page
I. Kurek, T. K. Chang, S. M. Bertain, A. Madrigal, L. Liu, M. W. Lassner, and G. Zhu
Enhanced Thermostability of Arabidopsis Rubisco Activase Improves Photosynthesis and Growth Rates under Moderate Heat Stress
PLANT CELL, October 1, 2007; 19(10): 3230 - 3241.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J Exp BotHome page
S. A. Coupe, B. G. Palmer, J. A. Lake, S. A. Overy, K. Oxborough, F. I. Woodward, J. E. Gray, and W. P. Quick
Systemic signalling of environmental cues in Arabidopsis leaves
J. Exp. Bot., January 1, 2006; 57(2): 329 - 341.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Plant Physiol.Home page
S. Chen, M. Hajirezaei, and F. Bornke
Differential Expression of Sucrose-Phosphate Synthase Isoenzymes in Tobacco Reflects Their Functional Specialization during Dark-Governed Starch Mobilization in Source Leaves
Plant Physiology, November 1, 2005; 139(3): 1163 - 1174.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J Exp BotHome page
C. J. Baxter, M. Sabar, W. P. Quick, and L. J. Sweetlove
Comparison of changes in fruit gene expression in tomato introgression lines provides evidence of genome-wide transcriptional changes and reveals links to mapped QTLs and described traits
J. Exp. Bot., June 1, 2005; 56(416): 1591 - 1604.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Plant Cell PhysiolHome page
C. J. Baxter, F. Carrari, A. Bauke, S. Overy, S. A. Hill, P. W. Quick, A. R. Fernie, and L. J. Sweetlove
Fruit Carbohydrate Metabolism in an Introgression Line of Tomato with Increased Fruit Soluble Solids
Plant Cell Physiol., March 1, 2005; 46(3): 425 - 437.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.