氨基酸不仅是细胞中蛋白质生物合成的必需底物,而且也参与植物体内的氮代谢途径以及碳氮平衡的调节。近年来,氨基酸的转运与吸收机制及其生物学功能已成为植物分子生物学特别关注和研究的热点之一。最近,学术界亦发现某些氨基酸可能作为信号分子对植物生长发育具有特殊的生物学意义。本文就氨基酸吸收与转运的分子生理机理及其在植物生长发育中的重要功能(如调控生长、适应各种环境胁迫等)的研究进展进行了较详细地综述。
Amino acids represent not only essential substrates for protein biosynthesis but also participate in nitrogen-metabolic pathways as well as regulatory processes of carbon-nitrogen balance in plants. In the past years, understanding of mechanisms of uptake/transport of the amino acids and their biological roles has been paid a particularly increasing attention and thus become one of the most interested research areas in plant biology. More recently, certain publications have indicated that some amino acids could also act as signal molecules playing vital roles in plant growth. In this article, we have intensively reviewed and summarized recent progresses on molecular and physiological mechanisms of the uptake and transport of the amino acids as well as their crucial functions in plant growth and development (e. g. growth regulation, adaptive response to some abiotic stresses). Hopefully, our review will provide overall, updated and valuable information to researchers interested in plant amino acid biology, favoring deeper exploration and appreciation of potential biological roles of amino acid-nutrition in higher plants.