Metabolism and transport in non-photosynthetic plastids

Plastids in non-photosynthetic tissue are the site of fattyacid, starch and amino acid synthesis. The intermediates tosupport these activities are imported from the cytoplasm orgenerated by carbohydrate oxidation within the organelle. Thisreview considers the current understanding of the nature ofthe substrates which are transported into such plastids, theinteraction between pathways within the organelle which havea supply and demand relationship, and pathways which potentiallycompete for substrates. Key words: Non-photosynthetic plastids, metabolite transport, starch, fatty acids, nitrogen assimilation