Abstract
All living organisms require a variety of essential elements for their basic biological functions. While the homeostasis of nutrients is highly intertwined, the molecular and genetic mechanisms of these dependencies remain poorly understood. Here, we report a discovery of a molecular pathway that controls phosphate (Pi) accumulation in plants under Zn deficiency. Using genome-wide association studies, we first identified allelic variation of the Lyso-PhosphatidylCholine (PC) AcylTransferase 1 (LPCAT1) gene as the key determinant of shoot Pi accumulation under Zn deficiency. We then show that regulatory variation at the LPCAT1 locus contributes significantly to this natural variation and we further demonstrate that the regulation of LPCAT1 expression involves bZIP23 TF, for which we identified a new binding site sequence. Finally, we show that in Zn deficient conditions loss of function of LPCAT1 increases the phospholipid Lyso-PhosphatidylCholine/PhosphatidylCholine ratio, the expression of the Pi transporter PHT1;1, and that this leads to shoot Pi accumulation.
Highlights
All living organisms require an adequate supply of nutrients for growth and survival
genome wide association studies (GWAS) identify two candidate genes involved in the accumulation of Pi in the shoot 119 under Zn deficiency
Using the genotype and the shoot Pi concentration as input, we performed a mixed model (AMM method (Seren et al, 2012)) GWAS that corrects for population structure (Korte et al, 2012) for both Zn conditions (Figure 1B, C, Figure 1-figure supplement 2C-D)
Summary
All living organisms require an adequate supply of nutrients for growth and survival. Nutrient deficiencies lead to decreased plant survival and lower nutritional value of foods, which has a profound impact on human health (Myers et al, 2014). At high P supplies, Zn deficiency associated with elevated shoot P levels causes P toxicity (Marschner, 2012). This P-Zn interaction is recognized in a wide variety of other biological systems, including rats (Wallwork et al, 1983), human cells (Sandström and Lönnerdal, 1989), and multiple fungal species (Freimoser et al, 2006). How P and Zn homeostases are coordinated is a fundamental biological question but has serious implications for global agronomic and biotechnological applications
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