myo-Inositol metabolism in plants

The multifunctional position supplied by myo-inositol is emerging as a central feature in plant biochemistry and physiology. In this critique, attention is drawn to metabolic aspects and current assessment is made of manifold ways in which myo-inositol and its metabolic products impact growth and development. The fact that a unique enzyme, common to all eukaryotic organisms where such assessment has been undertaken, controls conversion of D-glucose-6-P to 1L-myo-inositol-1-P provides a useful point of departure for this brief metabolic survey. Some aspects such as biosynthesis, phosphate and polyphosphate ester hydrolysis, and O-methylation of myo-inositol have captured the consideration of molecular biologists, yet other aspects including oxidation, conjugation, and transfer to phospholipids remain virtually untouched from this viewpoint. Here, an attempt is made to enlist new interest in all facets of myo-inositol metabolism and its place in plant biology. © 2000 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.