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All organisms need to maintain their energy balance in a constantly changing environment in order to survive. Most, if not all, eukaryotic life forms, including fungi, animals and plants, use a dedicated protein complex as cellular fuel gauge or energy sensor. In low-energy conditions, this complex stimulates breakdown processes while inhibiting growth and energy-consuming metabolic processes to prevent a negative energy balance. Despite the conservation of the core function and structure of these protein complexes (consisting of an α subunit, the active protein, and regulatory β and ɣ subunits), the plant energy sensor, called SnRK1, appears to be regulated somewhat atypically. This is likely linked to the unique lifestyle of plants as sessile and autotrophic organisms, producing their own energy-rich molecules (such as sugars) directly using solar energy. Consistently, plants have evolved unique β and ɣ subunits. For example, they use a single hybrid βɣ subunit as their ɣ subunit and this protein is obviously essential for plant growth. However, little is known about the overlap or specificity of the roles of the different versions (isoforms) of the β subunit. We first used different combinations of mutants of Arabidopsis (thale cress, a model system for plant biology) and simple genetics to confirm that at least one SnRK1β subunit is needed for the plant to produce viable seeds. Next, we investigated where and when in the plant the genes for the βɣ and the different SnRK1β subunits are expressed to get a first idea of their possible specific functions during vegetative (root and shoot) and reproductive (flower) development. Finally, to link these data to a specific biological function, we studied the phenotype of mutants harbouring only one functional SnRK1β subunit.