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Function of wheat phosphate transporter gene TaPHT2;1 in Pi translocation and plant growth regulation under replete and limited Pi supply conditions

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Abstract

Several phosphate transporters (PTs) that belong to the Pht2 family have been released in bioinformatics databases, but only a few members of this family have been functionally characterized. In this study, we found that wheat TaPHT2;1 shared high identity with a subset of Pht2 in diverse plants. Expression analysis revealed that TaPHT2;1 was strongly expressed in the leaves, was up-regulated by low Pi stress, and exhibited a circadian rhythmic expression pattern. TaPHT2;1–green fluorescent protein fusions in the leaves of tobacco and wheat were specifically detected in the chloroplast envelop. TaPHT2;1 complemented the Pi transporter activities in a yeast mutant with a defect in Pi uptake. Knockdown expression of TaPHT2;1 significantly reduced Pi concentration in the chloroplast under sufficient (2 mM Pi) and deficient Pi (100 μM Pi) conditions, suggesting that TaPHT2;1 is crucial in the mediation of Pi translocation from the cytosol to the chloroplast. The down-regulated expression of TaPHT2;1 resulted in reduced photosynthetic capacities, total P contents, and accumulated P amounts in plants under sufficient and deficient Pi conditions, eventually leading to worse plant growth phenotypes. The TaPHT2;1 knockdown plants exhibited pronounced decrease in accumulated phosphorus in sufficient and deficient Pi conditions, suggesting that TaPHT2;1 is an important factor to associate with a distinct P signaling that up-regulates other PT members to control Pi acquisition and translocation within plants. Therefore, TaPHT2;1 is a key member of the Pht2 family involved in Pi translocation, and that it can function in the improvement of phosphorus usage efficiency in wheat.

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Abbreviations

ATP:

Adenosine triphosphate

GUS:

β-Glucuronidase

GFP:

Green fluorescent protein

NPQ:

Nonphotochemical quenching

ORF:

Open reading frame

P:

Phosphorus

PCR:

Polymerase chain reaction

Pi:

Inorganic phosphorus

PT:

Phosphate transporter

WT:

Wild type

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 30971773), the National Transgenic Major Program of China (No. 2011ZX08008) and Natural Science Foundation of Hebei (No. C2010000752 and No. C2010000720).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Agronomy, Agricultural University of Hebei, Baoding, 071001, China

    Chengjin Guo, Xiaolei Zhao, Xiaoman Liu, Lijun Zhang & Kai Xiao

  2. College of Life Sciences, Agricultural University of Hebei, Baoding, 071001, China

    Juntao Gu, Xiaojuan Li & Wenjing Lu

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  1. Chengjin Guo
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  2. Xiaolei Zhao
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Guo, C., Zhao, X., Liu, X. et al. Function of wheat phosphate transporter gene TaPHT2;1 in Pi translocation and plant growth regulation under replete and limited Pi supply conditions. Planta 237, 1163–1178 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-012-1836-2

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