The aspartate-family pathway of plants Linking production of essential amino acids with energy and stress regulation

The Asp family pathway of plants is highly important from a nutritional standpoint because it leads to the synthesis of the four essential amino acids Lys, Thr, Met and Ile. These amino acids are not synthesized by human and its monogastric livestock and should be supplemented in their diets. Among the Asp-family amino acids, Lys is considered as the nutritionally most important essential amino acid because its level is most limiting in cereal grains, representing the largest source of plant foods and feeds worldwide. Metabolic engineering approaches led to significant increase in Lys level in seeds by enhancing its synthesis and reducing its catabolism. However, results from the model plant Arabidopsis showed that this approach may retard seed germination due to a major negative effect on the levels of a number of TCA cycle metabolites that associate with cellular energy. In the present review, we discuss the regulatory metabolic link of the Asp-family pathway with the TCA cycle and its biological significance upon exposure to stress conditions that cause energy deprivation. In addition, we also discuss how deep understanding of the regulatory metabolic link of the Asp-family pathway with energy and stress regulation can be used to improve Lys level in seeds of important crop species, minimizing the interference with the cellular energy status and plant-stress interaction. This review thus provides an example showing how deep understanding the inter-regulation of metabolism with plant stress physiology can lead to successful nutritional improvements with minimal negative effect on plant growth and response to stressful environments.