Abstract
BackgroundA major limiting factor for plant growth is the aluminum (Al) toxicity in acidic soils, especially in tropical regions. The exclusion of Al from the root apex through root exudation of organic acids such as malate and citrate is one of the most ubiquitous tolerance mechanisms in the plant kingdom. Two families of anion channels that confer Al tolerance are well described in the literature, ALMT and MATE family.ResultsIn this study, sugarcane plants constitutively overexpressing the Sorghum bicolor MATE gene (SbMATE) showed improved tolerance to Al when compared to non-transgenic (NT) plants, characterized by sustained root growth and exclusion of aluminum from the root apex based on the result obtained with hematoxylin staining. In addition, genome-wide analysis of the recently released sugarcane genome identified 11 ALMT genes and molecular studies showed potential new targets for aluminum tolerance.ConclusionsOur results indicate that the transgenic plants overexpressing the Sorghum bicolor MATE has an improved tolerance to Al. The expression profile of ALMT genes revels potential candidate genes to be used has an alternative for agricultural expansion in Brazil and other areas with aluminum toxicity in poor and acid soils.
Highlights
A major limiting factor for plant growth is the aluminum (Al) toxicity in acidic soils, especially in tropical regions
The results demonstrated that sugarcane plants overexpressing Sorghum bicolor MATE gene (SbMATE) exudated citrate to the rhizosphere and presented sustained root growth in the presence of Al, confirming the tolerance of the transgenic plants
SoALMT2, SoALMT3, SoALMT6 and SoALMT10 belong to clade 1; SoALMT5, SoALMT8, SoALMT9 and SoALMT11 were characterized as clade 2, while SoALMT1 and SoALMT7 as clade 3 and SoALMT4 in the clade 4 (Fig. 1)
Summary
A major limiting factor for plant growth is the aluminum (Al) toxicity in acidic soils, especially in tropical regions. Sugarcane plantation areas are decreasing, especially in Brazil, the largest sugarcane producer [1, 2]. In Brazil, for example, an alternative for the expansion of sugarcane planting area is the Cerrado region, a biome characterized by acidic soil. A great effort has been made by the scientific community to improve traits for sugarcane growth in poor and acid soils [3]. At low pH conditions, aluminum (Al), a natural constituent of the clay fraction of the soil, assumes ionic forms that are highly phytotoxic (Al3+ or Al(H2O)63+), damaging the root system and restricting plant development [4,5,6]. Aluminum (Al3+) ions at micromolar concentrations and in a short time of exposure can cause severe toxic effects in plants [7,8,9,10]
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