Nucleic Acids Encoding Plant Glutamine Phenylpyruvate Transaminase (GPT) And Uses Thereof

Glutamine phenylpyruvate transaminase (GPT) proteins, nucleic acid molecules encoding GPT proteins, and uses thereof are disclosed. Provided herein are various GPT proteins and GPT gene coding sequences isolated from a number of plant species. As disclosed herein, GPT proteins share remarkable structural similarity within plant species, and are active in catalyzing the synthesis of 2-hydroxy-5-oxoproline (2-oxoglutaramate), a powerful signal metabolite which regulates the function of a large number of genes involved in the photosynthesis apparatus, carbon fixation and nitrogen metabolism.