Abstract
PHT1 (phosphate transporter 1) family genes play important roles in regulating plant growth and responding to stress. However, there has been little research on the role of the PHT1 family in potatoes. In this study, using molecular and bioinformatic approaches, 8 PHT1 family genes were identified from the potato genome. StPHT1;7 was highly expressed in the whole potato plants. The overexpression and silence vectors of StPHT1;7 were constructed and transformed into the potato cultivar Desiree. Consequently, StPHT1;7 overexpression (with a relative expression 2–7-fold that in the control) and silence lines (with a relative expression of 0.3%–1% that in the control) were obtained. Their growth vigor was ranked in the order overexpression line > wild type > silence line. In the absence of phosphorus, the root length of the overexpression line was approximately 2.6 times that of the wild type, while the root length of the silence line was approximately 0.6 times that of the wild type. Furthermore, their tolerance to drought stress was ranked as wild type > overexpression line > silence line. These results suggest that StPHT1;7 affects growth and stress tolerance in potato plants.
Highlights
Phosphorus (P) is a macroelement required for plant growth and is one of the important elements for plant biological macromolecules, such as DNA, RNA, phospholipids, ATP, etc
Its expression level was obviously changed under stress and was predicted to play an important role in P transport and stress tolerance in potatoes
The plant heights of the overexpression line still exceeded those of the silence lines and the whereas the negative control (WT) under phosphorus-free conditions, but this difference was reduced compared to that under normal culture
Summary
Phosphorus (P) is a macroelement required for plant growth and is one of the important elements for plant biological macromolecules, such as DNA, RNA, phospholipids, ATP, etc. P availability is one of the main limiting factors for plant growth and development [1]. P accelerates cell division and the growth of the aboveground plant tissues. Phosphate fertilizer promotes potato root development, especially that of lateral roots, and affects root length. Applying enough P during potato growth can significantly increase the aboveground and underground biomass of plants by 8.78% and 61.4%, respectively [3]. When P is deficient, plant growth is inhibited, red patches appear on leaves, and plant height, root length, the numbers of branches and roots, leaf area, and plant photosynthetic ability are all reduced. Increasing plant resource allocation to root growth can increase the roots’ acquisition of P, but an increase in root tissue will incur increased metabolic costs, Plants 2020, 9, 1384; doi:10.3390/plants9101384 www.mdpi.com/journal/plants
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