This Perspective discusses the emerging advances in plant membrane transporters, which can be used to improve crop yields, nutritional value, and environmental stress resistance.
Enhanced plant membrane transporters
Transport proteins embedded in the cell membranes are key targets for improving the efficiency with which plants take up and use water and nutrients. In this Perspective article, Julian Schroeder
et al
. discuss recent work on the development of specialized plant membrane transporters that can enhance crop yields, increase nutritional value and boost resistance to stresses including pathogens. Promising lines of development include aluminium-tolerant cereals that thrive in acid soil, salt-tolerant varieties that grow in soils affected by salinity or sodium toxicity, and plants containing high levels of the iron and zinc micronutrients often scarce in predominantly plant-based diets in developing countries.
With the global population predicted to grow by at least 25 per cent by 2050, the need for sustainable production of nutritious foods is critical for human and environmental health. Recent advances show that specialized plant membrane transporters can be used to enhance yields of staple crops, increase nutrient content and increase resistance to key stresses, including salinity, pathogens and aluminium toxicity, which in turn could expand available arable land.