Optimizing thiamine pyrophosphate metabolism enhances crop yield and quality.

ABSTRACT: Global food security requires sustainable strategies to improve crop yield and nutrition. Although thiamine pyrophosphate (TPP), the active form of vitamin B1, plays a central role in energy metabolism, redox homeostasis, and carbon assimilation, its contribution to crop yield and quality remains largely unexplored. Here, we show that ZmTPK2, a thiamine pyrophosphokinase encoded by the major ear length QTL qKB6.2a, is a key regulator of maize yield. We reveal that ZmTPK2-dependent TPP homeostasis synchronizes three cornerstones of plant metabolism: mitochondrial tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle activity, chloroplast-mediated carbon fixation, and nitrogen utilization. Both overexpression and knockout of ZmTPK2 disrupt yield and grain quality, revealing that optimal TPP levels are required for

SUBMITTER: Luo Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12779980 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature