Abstract
Abiotic stress including nutrient deficiency and heavy metal toxicity severely affects plant growth, development, and productivity. Genetic variations within and in between species are one of the important factors in establishing interactions and responses of plants with the environment. In the recent past, natural variations in Arabidopsis thaliana have been used to understand plant development and response toward different stresses at genetic level. Phosphorus deficiency negatively affects plant growth and metabolism and modulates expression of the genes involved in Pi homeostasis. Arsenate, As(V), a chemical analog of Pi, is taken up by the plants via phosphate transport system. Studies suggest that during Pi deficiency, enhanced As(V) uptake leads to increased toxicity in plants. Here, the natural variations in Arabidopsis have been utilized to study the As(V) stress response under limiting Pi condition. The primary root length was compared to identify differential response of three Arabidopsis accessions (Col-0, Sij-1, and Slavi-1) under limiting Pi and As(V) stress. To study the molecular mechanisms responsible for the differential response, comprehensive expression profiling of the genes involved in uptake, detoxification, and regulatory mechanisms was carried out. Analysis suggests genetic variation-dependent regulatory mechanisms may affect differential response of Arabidopsis natural variants toward As(V) stress under limiting Pi condition. Therefore, it is hypothesized that detailed analysis of the natural variations under multiple stress conditions might help in the better understanding of the biological processes involved in stress tolerance and adaptation.
Highlights
Diverse spectrum of environmental stresses severely affects plant growth and development and reduces productivity and yield
Little is known about the genetic basis of Arabidopsis response to nutrient deficiency and heavy metal stress
Our study demonstrate natural variation in Arabidopsis under Pi deficiency and Pi deficient + As(V) stress
Summary
Diverse spectrum of environmental stresses severely affects plant growth and development and reduces productivity and yield. Several studies have reported that the genetic variations within and in between the species play role in establishing interactions and responses of plants with the environment. Natural variations in different plant species such as Arabidopsis, maize, and rice have been used to understand the genetic impact on plant development and Arsenate/phosphate interaction in Arabidopsis physiology (Alonso-Blanco et al, 2009; Li et al, 2012; Weigel, 2012; Yadav et al, 2013). Advanced studies using genetically divergent populations within the species have helped in the elucidation of the genomic variations and their associations with various traits and adaptability. Arabidopsis natural variations have been used to elucidate the molecular mechanisms and processes involved in various stresses including salt (Wang et al, 2013), drought (Bouchabke et al, 2008), temperature (Degenkolbe et al, 2012; Barah et al, 2013), and flooding (Vashisht et al, 2011)
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