Transporters in starch synthesis
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Updated: Dec 14, 2025

Characterization of Membrane Transporters by Heterologous Expression in E. coli and Production of Membrane Vesicles
Published on: December 31, 2019
Thomas Martin1, Frank Ludewig2
1School of Biomedical, Biomolecular and Chemical Sciences, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia.
Abstract:
Starch is synthesised and stored in plastids. In autotrophic tissues, the carbon skeletons and energy required for starch synthesis are directly available from photosynthesis. However, plastids of heterotrophic tissues require the metabolites for starch synthesis to be imported. Depending on plant species and tissue type, import is facilitated by several different plastid inner envelope metabolite transporters. Commonly, glucose-6-phosphate/phosphate translocators and adenylate translocators are used, but in the cereal endosperm, the role is carried out by ADP glucose transporters (Brittle1, BT1). This review predominantly focuses on transporters of the plastid inner envelope membrane. Their roles are discussed within an overview of starch synthesis. We also examine additional functions of these transporters according to our current knowledge.
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