Abstract
Phosphorus (P) is an essential nutrient for plant growth and development. Phosphate transporters (PHTs) are trans-membrane proteins that mediate the uptake and translocation of phosphate (Pi) in green plants. The PHT family including PHT1, PHT2, PHT3 and PHT4 subfamilies are well-studied in land plants; however, PHT genes in green algae are poorly documented and not comprehensively identified. Here, we analyzed the PHTs in a model green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and found 25 putative PHT genes, which can be divided into four subfamilies. The subfamilies of CrPTA, CrPTB, CrPHT3, and CrPHT4 contain four, eleven, one, and nine genes, respectively. The structure, chromosomal distribution, subcellular localization, duplication, phylogenies, and motifs of these genes were systematically analyzed in silico. Expression profile analysis showed that CrPHT genes displayed differential expression patterns under P starvation condition. The expression levels of CrPTA1 and CrPTA3 were down-regulated, while the expression of most CrPTB genes was up-regulated under P starvation, which may be controlled by CrPSR1. The transcript abundance of most CrPHT3 and CrPHT4 genes was not significantly affected by P starvation except CrPHT4-3, CrPHT4-4, and CrPHT4-6. Our results provided basic information for understanding the evolution and features of the PHT family in green algae.
Highlights
Phosphorus (P) is one of the most important macronutrients for algae and land plants
Phosphate transporters (PHTs) in land plants consisted of PHT1, PHT2, PHT3, and PHT4 subfamilies, while PHTs in algae contained PHOSPHATE TRANSPORTER A (PTA), PTB, PHT3, and PHT4 subfamilies
The PHT2, PHT3, and PHT4 gene families encode proteins that transport Pi between the cytoplasm and different subcellular compartments in land plants, while how Pi is transported in subcellular compartments in algae was still unclear
Summary
Phosphorus (P) is one of the most important macronutrients for algae and land plants. Through the physical interactions with a cis element, namely, PHR1 binding site (P1BS; GNATATNC), PHR transcription factors are responsible for the transcriptional activation of a considerable proportion of Pi starvation-induced genes, including PHT1 members (Zhou et al, 2008; Bustos et al, 2010; Sun et al, 2016).
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