Starch Biosynthesis
Susann Aue, Dr. Manish Raorane
In most starch storing tissues sucrose is converted to hexose phosphates in the cytosol, which are transported to the plastid and converted via plastidial ADP-glucose to starch. In the Poaceae family (e.g. maize, rice, wheat), there is an additional route via cytosolic ADP-glucose that saves one ATP per hexose unit. Given the enormous fluxes through this pathway, the energy advantage of the Poaceae strategy is substantial. We are in the process of engineering the cytosolic ADP-glucose route into pea seeds. The physiology of the resulting plants will be characterized thoroughly.
Pathway from sucrose to starch. Enzyme 1 and transporter 2 have been introduced.