biostudies-literatureLuo YNatural Science Foundation of Hubei ProvinceNational Natural Science Foundation of ChinaChina Postdoctoral Science FoundationNatural Science Foundation of Hubei Province (Hubei Provincial Natural Science Foundation)National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China)165https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC12779980biostudies-literatureUnknown17(1)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 forNature communicationsOptimizing thiamine pyrophosphate metabolism enhances crop yield and quality.PMC12779980323210052023AFB2612023M73123932301840B20051Li HLiu JJian LYan JFernie ARLiu XZhuo LLi WLiu YFang WLuo YWang YZhao JWu YZhan JfalseOptimizing thiamine pyrophosphate metabolism enhances crop yield and quality.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 for2025-01-01T00:00:00Z2025 Nov2026-06-06T12:46:29.504Z2026-05-30T03:11:42.752ZS-EPMC127799804131854710.1038/s41467-025-66882-7