Glucose-TOR signalling reprograms the transcriptome and activates meristems.

This important work uses a combination of genetic and pharmacological approaches to address how basic growth responses are coupled to energy and nutrient inputs in plants. Experiments show that the growth-enabling activity of the conserved eukaryotic target of rapamycin (TOR) kinase is closely coupled to glucose levels, and that this coupling requires mitochondrial activity. More significantly, experiments suggest that, in plants, TOR kinase directly targets E2F transcriptional regulators to effect complex changes in gene expression, which would represent a notable addition to the range of translational-based responses that have been previously described in animals, fungi and plants.