The metabolic homeostaTOR: The balance of holding on or letting grow

Abstract

Plants, as autotrophic organisms, capture light energy to convert carbon dioxide into ATP, NADPH, and sugars, which are essential for the biosynthesis of building blocks, cell proliferation, biomass accumulation, and reproductive fitness. The Target Of Rapamycin (TOR) signalling pathway is a master regulator in sensing energy and nutrients, adapting the metabolic network and cell behaviour in response to environmental resource availability. In the past years, exciting advances in this endeavour have pointed out this pathway's importance in controlling metabolic homeostasis in various biological processes and systems. In this review, we discuss these recent discoveries highlighting the need for a metabolic threshold for the proper function of this kinase complex at the cellular level and across distinct tissues and organs to control growth and development in plants.

Keywords: Metabolic homeostasis; Metabolism; Plant growth; TOR signalling.