Amino acid translocation to sink tissues and in organismic interactions.

Nitrogen is the nutrient that is required in the largest amount by plants and often a growth-limiting factor. Within the plant, the vast majority of nitrogen is found in amino acids. Amino acid transport therefore greatly contributes to nitrogen efficiency, a critical factor that controls yield quantity and quality. Here, we propose to use loss-of-function mutants of novel amino acid transporters as well as metabolic profiling to further characterize their physiological role in Arabidopsis and to extend the studies to symbiotic interactions.