Amino acids – A life between metabolism and signaling

•Certain amino acids and derivatives have signaling functions in mammals and plants.•Serine is essential for cell proliferation.•GABA has a function in sexual reproduction and cell identity.•Neolignans deriving from phenylalanine act as signals.•Hydroxycinnamic acid amides play a profound role in th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Plant science (Limerick) 2014-12, Vol.229, p.225-237
Main Authors: Häusler, Rainer E., Ludewig, Frank, Krueger, Stephan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amino Acids - chemistry
Amino Acids - metabolism
GABA
gamma-Aminobutyric Acid - metabolism
Hydroxycinnamic-acid-amides
Metabolic Networks and Pathways
Neolignans
Plant Development
Plants - metabolism
Serine
Signal Transduction
Signaling
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Summary:•Certain amino acids and derivatives have signaling functions in mammals and plants.•Serine is essential for cell proliferation.•GABA has a function in sexual reproduction and cell identity.•Neolignans deriving from phenylalanine act as signals.•Hydroxycinnamic acid amides play a profound role in the pathogen response of plants. Amino acids serve as constituents of proteins, precursors for anabolism, and, in some cases, as signaling molecules in mammalians and plants. This review is focused on new insights, or speculations, on signaling functions of serine, γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and phenylalanine-derived phenylpropanoids. Serine acts as signal in brain tissue and mammalian cancer cells. In plants, de novo serine biosynthesis is also highly active in fast growing tissues such as meristems, suggesting a similar role of serine as in mammalians. GABA functions as inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain. In plants, GABA is also abundant and seems to be involved in sexual reproduction, cell elongation, patterning and cell identity. The aromatic amino acids phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan are precursors for the production of secondary plant products. Besides their pharmaceutical value, lignans, neolignans and hydroxycinnamic acid amides (HCAA) deriving from phenylpropanoid metabolism and, in the case of HCAA, also from arginine have been shown to fulfill signaling functions or are involved in the response to biotic and abiotic stress. Although some basics on phenylpropanoid-derived signaling have been described, little is known on recognition- or signal transduction mechanisms. In general, mutant- and transgenic approaches will be helpful to elucidate the mechanistic basis of metabolite signaling.
ISSN:0168-9452
1873-2259
DOI:10.1016/j.plantsci.2014.09.011