SUC4 — Medicago truncatula

Summary

MTR_5G067470 (MtSUC4) on barrel medic chromosome 5 encodes a protein belonging to the sucrose symporter plant family and the major facilitator superfamily, with annotated activities including sucrose:proton symport, maltose:proton symport, arbutin and salicin transmembrane transport, and heme and protein binding. The gene is associated with phloem sucrose loading, maltose transport, membrane depolarization, sucrose metabolism, pollen germination, response to wounding, and alkane and very-long-chain fatty acid anabolism. It has been linked to grain yield, unfilled grain number, phenolic compound content, lignin biosynthesis, days to flowering, seed dormancy, root thickness, ethylene sensitivity, and abiotic stress response. Localization evidence connects the product to the tonoplast, vacuole, ER, cis-Golgi network, chloroplast outer membrane, stromule, and pollen tube. Studies of related genes in other species link the family to vacuolar sucrose transport, abiotic stress tolerance, salt tolerance, and nematode resistance.