Genetic approaches to understanding sugar-response pathways

Plants as photoautotrophic organisms are able to produce the carbohydrates they require and have developed mechanisms to co-ordinate carbohydrate production and its metabolism. Carbohydrate-derived signals regulate the expression of genes involved in both photosynthesis and metabolism, and control carbohydrate partitioning. A number of genetic approaches have been initiated to understand sugar-response pathways in plants and identify the components involved. Screening strategies to date have been based on the effects of high sugar media on early seedling development or on changes in the enzyme activity or expression of sugar-responsive genes. These screens have established roles for plant hormones in sugar-response pathways, in particular for abscisic acid. The present emphasis on the role of plant hormones in sugar responses is due to the fact that mutants could be readily identified as belonging to these established pathways, but also results from the nature of the mutant screens in use. Progress is being made on the identification of mutants and genes that may be specific to sugar-signalling pathways. It is also expected that the modification of existing screens may target sugar-signalling pathways more directly. Genetic approaches may be especially useful in identifying components of novel signalling pathways unique to plants, and their combination with genomic and molecular approaches will guide future research.