Molecular approaches to the study of amino acid biosynthesis in plants

Recent analysis of genes encoding amino acid biosynthetic enzymes has begun to provide insights into the structure, function, and regulated expression of key biosynthetic enzymes. These molecular studies have begun to address the role of individual isoenzymes, their subcellular and cellular localizations, and the factors which regulate their expression. Because amino acids serve unique roles in plant nitrogen metabolism and because several amino acid biosynthetic enzymes are targets for commercial herbicides, these studies have significance in the area of plant biotechnology.