Review

Sucrose assimilation and the role of sucrose transporters in plant wound response

Omodele Ibraheem, Runyararo M. Hove and Graeme Bradley¹*

Plant Stress Response Group, Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Fort Hare, Private Bag X1314, Alice 5700, South Africa.

*Corresponding author. E-mail: gbradley@ufh.ac.za. Tel: +27 40 602 2173. Fax: 0866288637.

Accepted 21 November, 2008

Plant cells are commonly exposed to a variety of injuries such as mechanical and herbivore wounding. Wounding is a continual threat to the survival of all organisms and an open wound caused by mechanical or herbivore wounding is a potential infection site for pathogens, thus expression of defense genes at the wound site is a barrier against opportunistic pathogens. Wounding in multicellular eukaryote cells result in marked changes in gene repression that contribute to cell defense and repairs. The sudden changes in cellular metabolism and additional metabolism requirements for these wounded tissues or cells can only be met by an increased utilization of exogenously supplied carbohydrate in the form of sucrose. Sucrose transporters’ involvement in the import of sucrose from the apoplastic cells will be of great significance for the cellular metabolic needs, and also for energy and carbon requirements for the activation of defense responses of the adjacent injured tissues or cells.

Key words: Sucrose transporters, Plasma membrane, carbohydrate, sieve element, source-sink.