The PEAPOD Pathway and Its Potential To Improve Crop Yield

Trends Plant Sci. 2021 Mar;26(3):220-236. doi: 10.1016/j.tplants.2020.10.012. Epub 2020 Dec 10.

Abstract

A key strategy to increase plant productivity is to improve intrinsic organ growth. Some of the regulatory networks underlying organ growth and development, as well as the interconnections between these networks, are highly conserved. An example of such a growth-regulatory module with a highly conserved role in final organ size and shape determination in eudicot species is the PEAPOD (PPD)/KINASE-INDUCIBLE DOMAIN INTERACTING (KIX)/STERILE APETALA (SAP) module. We review the proteins constituting the PPD pathway and their roles in different plant developmental processes, and explore options for future research. We also speculate on strategies to exploit knowledge about the PPD pathway for targeted yield improvement to engineer crop traits of agronomic interest, such as leaf, fruit, and seed size.

Keywords: agronomic trait; crop engineering; eudicot-specific; leaf development; organ growth; seed development.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Fruit
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Plant*
  • Phenotype
  • Plant Leaves
  • Seeds*