The present invention describes an approach to increase taurine or hypotaurine production in prokaryotes or eukaryotes. More particularly, the invention relates to genetic transformation of organisms with genes that encode proteins that catalyze the conversion of cysteine to taurine, methionine to taurine, cysteamine to taurine, or alanine to taurine. The invention describes methods for the use of polynucleotides that encode functional cysteine dioxygenase (CDO), cysteine dioxygenase (CDO) and sulfinoalanine decarboxylase (SAD) or glutamate decarboxylase (GAD), cysteamine dioxygenase (ADO), taurine-pyruvate aminotransferase (TPAT), TPAT and sulfoacetaldehyde acetyltransferase (SA), taurine dioxygenase (TDO) or the small (ssTDeHase) and large subunits of taurine dehydrogenase (lsTDeHase) polypeptides in plants to increase taurine, hypotaurine or taurine precursor production. The preferred embodiment of the invention is in plants but other organisms may be used. Increased taurine production in plants will enhance plant growth and development, yield, or tolerance to biotic and/or abiotic stresses and could be used as nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, or therapeutic compounds or as a supplement in animal feed.