AAT1 — Zea mays

Summary

ZM00001EB249380 (ZmAAT1, also known as CAT2–CAT6 and CAT10–CAT11) on maize chromosome 5 encodes a basic amino acid permease with L-lysine, L-glutamate and general amino acid transmembrane transporter activity, belonging to the AA/rel_permease1 family. The gene is associated with osmotic stress and abscisic acid responses, and with traits including brittle endosperm, plant colour, ear length, leaf chlorophyll and carotenoid content, grain number and yield, plant height, root length, salt and heat tolerance, germination rate, proline and anthocyanin content. It is linked to drought and cold tolerance, senescence, stomatal development, seed germination, hydrogen peroxide accumulation and scavenging, programmed cell death, circadian rhythm, leaf amino acid concentration, and resistance to Pseudomonas syringae and Colletotrichum higginsianum. The protein localises to the tonoplast, ER, mitochondria, nuclear envelope and plasma membrane. Studies of related genes in other species connect the family to vacuolar amino acid transport, photorespiratory stress tolerance, pathogen resistance and salt stress tolerance.