| Summary: | Duckweeds are well known for their high accumulation of starch under stress conditions, along with inhibited growth. The phosphorylation pathway of serine biosynthesis (PPSB) was reported as playing a vital role in linking the carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur metabolism in this plant. The overexpression of <i>AtPSP1</i>, the last key enzyme of the PPSB pathway in duckweed, was found to stimulate the accumulation of starch under sulfur-deficient conditions. The growth- and photosynthesis-related parameters were higher in the <i>AtPSP1</i> transgenic plants than in the WT. The transcriptional analysis showed that the expression of several genes in starch synthesis, TCA, and sulfur absorption, transportation, and assimilation was significantly up- or downregulated. The study suggests that <i>PSP</i> engineering could improve starch accumulation in <i>Lemna turionifera</i> 5511 by coordinating the carbon metabolism and sulfur assimilation under sulfur-deficient conditions.
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