Sugar signals and the control of plant growth and development

Sugars are key regulators that control plant growth and development, including biomass accumulation. Major sugar-responsive signalling systems are reviewed, with emphasis on trehalose 6-phosphate, TOR kinase, SnRK1, and the C/S1-bZIP network.Sugars have a central regulatory function in steering plant growth. This review focuses on information presented in the past 2 years on key players in sugar-mediated plant growth regulation, with emphasis on trehalose 6-phosphate, target of rapamycin kinase, and Snf1-related kinase 1 regulatory systems. The regulation of protein synthesis by sugars is fundamental to plant growth control, and recent advances in our understanding of the regulation of translation by sugars will be discussed.