1State Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Specialty Crops, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430074, China 2College of Life Sciences, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China 3Institute of Horticulture, Anhui Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hefei 230000, China 4Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Plantation and High Valued Utilization of Specialty Fruit Tree and Tea, Institute of Biological Resources, Jiangxi Academy of Sciences, Nanchang 330224 Jiangxi, China 5Beijing Life Science Academy, Beijing 102209, China 6Tobacco Chemistry Research Institute of Technology Center, China Tobacco Hunan Industrial Co., Ltd., Changsha, China *Corresponding author. E-mail: liaoliao@wbgcas.cn,lixx@blsa.com.cn,yuepenghan@wbgcas.cn
Received: 20 Nov 2024 Accepted: 25 Feb 2025 Published online: 03 Mar 2025
Abstract
Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), a highly conserved enzyme in the glycolytic pathway, also acts as a moonlighting protein, performing various functions beyond its classical role in glycolysis, such as regulating gene expression, participating in cell signal transduction, and responding to environmental stress. By interacting with various signaling molecules, GAPDH plays a regulatory role in hormone signaling pathways, influencing plant growth and development. Functional plasticity in GAPDH is modulated mainly through redox-driven post-translational modifications, which alter the enzyme’s catalytic activity and influence its subcellular distribution. This review explores the diverse functionalities of GAPDHs in plants, highlighting their significance in plant metabolic processes and stress adaptation.