Amino acids on the move: boosting transporters for high-quality crops under reduced nitrogen supply.

Modifying amino acid transporters can improve crop biomass, grain filling, seed protein, fruit quality, and nitrogen use efficiency in cereals, legumes, and horticultural crops.

• Why it matters: Nitrogen availability limits crop productivity and low nitrogen use efficiency causes economic and environmental costs, highlighting the need for better nitrogen redistribution within plants.
• What they did: The study reviews the roles of amino acid transporters from AAAP, APC, and UMAMIT families in plant growth and crop quality, emphasizing recent advances in genome editing, genetic variation, and phenotyping.
• The result: Enhancing amino acid transporter function may lead to crops with higher nitrogen efficiency and better agricultural sustainability, supporting improved yield and nutritional quality.