Department of Biology, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA.
Amino Acids. 2010 Oct;39(4):963-78. doi: 10.1007/s00726-010-0572-9. Epub 2010 Apr 3.
Sulfur is an essential plant nutrient and is metabolized into the sulfur-containing amino acids (cysteine and methionine) and into molecules that protect plants against oxidative and environmental stresses. Although studies of thiol metabolism in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana (thale cress) have expanded our understanding of these dynamic processes, our knowledge of how sulfur is assimilated and metabolized in crop plants, such as soybean (Glycine max), remains limited in comparison. Soybean is a major crop used worldwide for food and animal feed. Although soybeans are protein-rich, they do not contain high levels of the sulfur-containing amino acids, cysteine and methionine. Ultimately, unraveling the fundamental steps and regulation of thiol metabolism in soybean is important for optimizing crop yield and quality. Here we review the pathways from sulfur uptake to glutathione and homoglutathione synthesis in soybean, the potential biotechnology benefits of understanding and modifying these pathways, and how information from the soybean genome may guide the next steps in exploring this biochemical system.
硫是一种植物必需的营养元素，可代谢为含硫氨基酸（半胱氨酸和蛋氨酸）和保护植物免受氧化和环境胁迫的分子。尽管对模式植物拟南芥（拟南芥）中巯基代谢的研究扩展了我们对这些动态过程的理解，但与拟南芥相比，我们对作物（如大豆）中硫的同化和代谢的了解仍然有限。大豆是世界范围内用于食品和动物饲料的主要作物。虽然大豆富含蛋白质，但它们并不含有高水平的含硫氨基酸，半胱氨酸和蛋氨酸。最终，阐明大豆中巯基代谢的基本步骤和调控对于优化作物产量和品质非常重要。在这里，我们综述了大豆中从硫吸收到谷胱甘肽和同型谷胱甘肽合成的途径，理解和修饰这些途径的潜在生物技术益处，以及大豆基因组中的信息如何指导探索这一生化系统的下一步。
