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Rice OsHAK16 functions in potassium uptake and translocation in shoot, maintaining potassium homeostasis and salt tolerance

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Abstract

Main conclusion

OsHAK16 mediates K uptake and root-to-shoot translocation in a broad range of external K concentrations, thereby contributing to the maintenance of K homeostasis and salt tolerance in the rice shoot.

Abstract

The HAK/KUP/KT transporters have been widely associated with potassium (K) transport across membranes in both microbes and plants. Here, we report the physiological function of OsHAK16, a member belonging to the HAK/KUP/KT family in rice (Oryza sativa L.). Transcriptional expression of OsHAK16 was up-regulated by K deficiency or salt stress. OsHAK16 is localized at the plasma membrane. OsHAK16 knockout (KO) dramatically reduced root K net uptake rate and growth at both 0.1 mM and 1 mM K supplies, while OsHAK16 overexpression (OX) increased total K uptake and growth only at 0.1 mM K level. OsHAK16-KO decreased the rate of rubidium (Rb) uptake and translocation compared to WT at both 0.2 mM and 1 mM Rb levels. OsHAK16 disruption decreased while its overexpression increased K concentration in root slightly but in shoot remarkably. The relative distribution of total K between shoot and root decreased by 30% in OsHAK16-KO lines and increased by 30% in its OX lines compared to WT. OsHAK16-KO diminished K uptake and K/Na ratio, while OsHAK16-OX improved K uptake and translocation from root to shoot, resulting in increased sensitivity and tolerance to salt stress, respectively. Expression of OsHAK16 enhanced the growth of high salt-sensitive yeast mutant by increasing its K but no Na content. Taking all these together, we conclude that OsHAK16 plays crucial roles in maintaining K homeostasis and salt tolerance in rice shoot.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National R&D Program for Transgenic Crops (2016ZX08009003), the National Natural Science Foundation (31872166), the Innovative Research Team Development Plan of the Ministry of Education of China (Grant no. IRT_17R56) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant no. KYT201802). Junchao Yu from Noble Hills Academy at Shanghai New Hongqiao High School contributed to both pot and field assay of the transgenic rice lines.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China

    Huimin Feng, Qiang Tang, Jin Cai, Benchao Xu, Guohua Xu & Ling Yu

  2. MOA Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and Fertilization in Lower-Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China

    Huimin Feng, Guohua Xu & Ling Yu

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  1. Huimin Feng
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Correspondence to Ling Yu.

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425_2019_3194_MOESM1_ESM.doc

Supplementary material 1 (DOC 126 kb) Fig. S1 Time course of cell density of G19 transformed with pYES2 or OsHAK16 in liquid SDG medium (10 mM K) containing 0 (a), 200 (b) and 400 mM (c) NaCl. Fig. S2 Time course of cell density of K uptake-deficient yeast strain R5421 transformed with pYES2 or OsHAK16 in liquid phosphoric acid (AP) medium containing different levels of K (0.1, 1, 10 mM). Fig. S3 Relative expression of OsHAK1 and OsHAK5 in roots of OsHAK16 knockout mutants under different K level. Expression level of OsHAK16 in WT with +K treatment was used as calibrator. The Y axis is fold changes in gene expression relative to the calibrator. And the fold changes were labeled on the bars. +K: 1 mM K. −K: K free. OsHAK1 primers (accession number. AJ427970): F(5′–3′)-GTTGATGATGCTGATGTTGGAAG, R(5′–3′)-CCAACACTTTCAGCTGAAAC. OsHAK5 primers (accession number AK241580): F(5′–3′)-CATTGTGGACTATTTTGAAAGAA, R(5′–3′)-GGAGAACTACAGAAAAGCCAATC. Table S1. The primers for semi-quantitative and real-time quantitative PCR of OsHAK16. Table S2. Primers for construction of OsHAK16-eGFP and eGFP-OsHAK16. Table S3. The primers for identification of two homozygous mutant lines of OsHAK16 (KO). Table S4. Primers for OsHAK16-cDNA for construction of overexpression

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Feng, H., Tang, Q., Cai, J. et al. Rice OsHAK16 functions in potassium uptake and translocation in shoot, maintaining potassium homeostasis and salt tolerance. Planta 250, 549–561 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-019-03194-3

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