A CRISPR/Cas9 deletion into the phosphate transporter SlPHO1;1 reveals its role in phosphate nutrition of tomato seedlings.

Abstract

In vascular (Arabidopsis thaliana) and non-vascular (Physcomitrella patens) plants, PHOSPHATE 1 (PHO1) homologs play important roles in the acquisition and transfer of phosphate. The tomato genome contains six genes (SlPHO1;1-SlPHO1;6) homologous to AtPHO1. The six proteins have typical characteristics of the plant PHO1 family, such as the three Syg1/Pho81/XPRI (SPX) subdomains in the N-terminal portion and one ERD1/XPR1/SYG1 (EXS) domain in the C-terminal portion. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the SlPHO1 family is subdivided into three clusters. A pairwise comparison indicated that SlPHO1;1 showed the highest level of sequence identity/similarity (67.39/76.21%) to AtPHO1. SlPHO1;1 deletion mutants induced by clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/Cas9 displayed typical phenotypes of Pi starvation, such as decreased shoot fresh weight and increased root fresh weight, therefore having a greater root-to-shoot ratio. Mutants also accumulated more anthocyanin and had more soluble Pi content in the root and less in the shoot. These results indicate that SlPHO1;1 plays an important role in Pi transport in the tomato at seedling stage.