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ARS Home » Plains Area » Fargo, North Dakota » Edward T. Schafer Agricultural Research Center » Sugarbeet Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #415909
Research Project: Improving Sugarbeet Productivity and Sustainability through Genetic, Genomic, Physiological, and Phytopathological Approaches

Location: Sugarbeet Research

Title: Genomic analysis of SWEET and TST sugar transporter gene families in sugarbeet (Beta vulgaris L.)

Author
item Fugate, Karen
item FINGER, FERNANDO - Universidade Federal De Vicosa
item Eide, John

Submitted to: American Society of Plant Biologists Annual Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/15/2024
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Sugar transporters effect movement of sugars across cellular membranes and play a critical role in relocalizing carbon substrates within cells, tissues, and organs to fuel metabolism and respond to stress. In sugarbeet, the SWEET (sugars will eventually be exported transporter) and TST (tonoplast sugar transporter) families of sugar transporters have been implicated in sucrose accumulation during crop production and sucrose loss during storage, yet the genes comprising these families are largely unstudied. To gain insight into the biology of these sugar transporters, SWEET and TST genes were identified in the sugarbeet genome, and structural and genomic properties of identified SWEET and TST genes were determined. Additionally, expression of SWEET and TST family genes were mapped in leaves and roots during development, roots during postharvest storage, and sugarbeet genotypes that presumably differ in rates of sucrose utilization due to differences in respiration rate. Sixteen SWEET genes and four TST genes were identified in the sugarbeet genome. Within families, expressed proteins were structurally similar with seven a-helix transmembrane domains interspersed throughout all SWEET proteins and two sets of six closely-spaced, helical transmembrane domains connected by a large, membrane-internal loop in all TST proteins. Ten SWEET genes were expressed during development. SWEET gene expression generally declined as plants aged and increased during storage. SWEET expression also varied between genotypes that differed in respiration rate. All TST genes were expressed in sugarbeet leaves and roots. Expression of three TST genes was minimally affected by development, while a fourth TST gene was highly expressed in roots and petioles and subject to developmental and postharvest regulation. These results identify and characterize SWEET and TST genes of sugarbeet and identify members of these gene families that are likely to have the greatest influence on developmental and postharvest metabolism in this crop.