Starch synthesis in Arabidopsis. Granule synthesis, composition, and structure
	Zeeman, S.C., Tiessen, A., Pilling, E., Kato, K.L., Donald, A.M., and Smith, A.M.
	Plant Physiology 129, 516-529 (2002)
	This paper presents a thorough characterization of starch synthesis, composition, and structure in wild type Arabidopsis leaves. Pulse-chase labeling experiments were used to show that there is no observable degradation of starch during periods of accumulation. Radial polymer organization was detected, and a pattern of repeating amorphous and cyrstalline lamellae with a 9 nm length was demonstrated by X-ray scatter analysis. Growth rings with a repeat distance of 200-300 nm were observed in a mutant (Atsex4-) that conditions abnormally large granules. These parameters are similar to those observed in storage starches from other plants. Arabidopsis starch granules take the shape of flattened discs. At the end of a 12h light phase in a diurnal cycle these discs are approximately 0.75 - 1.50 microns in diameter. In extended periods of constant light the granules retain the flattened shape but enlarge to 2 - 4 microns in diameter. The chain length distribution of wild type amylopectin, determined by FACE, is presented.

	Maltose is the major form of carbon exported from the chloroplast at night
	Weise, S.E., Weber, A.P.M., and Sharkey, T.D.
	Planta 218, 474-482 (2004)
	Spinach leaf chloroplasts isolated at the beginning of the dark period of a diurnal cycle were shown directly to export maltose and glucose in a molar ratio of approximately 2:1. Wild type Arabidopsis leaves were found to accumulate maltose specifically in the dark period of the diurnal cycle, and this accumulation was blocked when starch biosynthesis was compromised at two different early metabolic steps. Fractionation showed that maltose present in leaves during the night was located both in the chloroplasts and the cytosol at a ratio of approximately 1:1. The data suggest that transient starch breakdown during the night is accomplished by hydrolysis involving beta-amylase, and that the maltose product is then transported to the cytosol where further metabolism accomplishes conversion to sucrose.

	Diurnal changes in the transcriptome encoding enzymes of starch metabolism provide evidence for both transcriptional and post-transcriptional reguation of starch metabolism in Arabidopsis leaves
	Smith, S.M., Fulton, D.C., Chia, T., Thorneycraft, D., Chapple, A., Dunstan, H., Hylton, C., Zeeman, S.C., and Smith, A.M.
	Plant Physiology 136, 2687-2699 (2004)