An Arabidopsis ABC Transporter Mediates Phosphate Deficiency-Induced Remodeling of Root Architecture by Modulating Iron Homeostasis in Roots

The remodeling of root architecture is a major developmental response of plants to phosphate （Pi） deficiency and is thought to enhance a plant＇s ability to forage for the available Pi in topsoil. The underlying mechanism controlling this response, however, is poorly understood. In this study, we identified an Arabidopsis mutant, hps 10 （hypersensitive to Pi starvation 10）, which is morphologically normal under Pi sufficient condition but shows increased inhibition of primary root growth and enhanced production of lateral roots under Pi defi- ciency, hpslO is a previously identified allele （als3-3） of the ALUMINUM SENSITIVE3 （ALS3） gene, which is involved in plant tolerance to aluminum toxicity. Our results show that ALS3 and its interacting protein AtSTAR1 form an ABC transporter complex in the tonoplast. This protein complex mediates a highly electro- genic transport in Xenopus oocytes. Under Pi deficiency, als3 accumulates higher levels of Fe3＋ in its roots than the wild type does. In Arabidopsis, LPR1 （LOW PHOSPHATE ROOT1） and LPR2 encode ferroxidases, which when mutated, reduce Fe3＋ accumulation in roots and cause root growth to be insensitive to Pi defi- ciency. Here, we provide compelling evidence showing that ALS3 cooperates with LPR1/2 to regulate Pi deficiency-induced remodeling of root architecture by modulating Fe homeostasis in roots.

Inositol Pyrophosphate lnsP8 Acts as an Intracellular Phosphate Signal in Arabidopsis

The maintenance of cellular phosphate(Pi)homeostasis is of great importance in living organisms.The SPX domain-containing protein 1(SPX1)proteins from both Arabidopsis and rice have been proposed to act as sensors of Pi status.The molecular signal indicating the cellular Pi status and regulating Pi homeostasis in plants,however,remains to be identified,as Pi itself does not bind to the SPX domain.Here,we report the identification of the inositol pyrophosphate lnsP8 as a signaling molecule that regulates Pi homeostasis in Arabidopsis.Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis profiling of InsPs revealed that lnsP8 level positively cor­relates with cellular Pi concentration.We demonstrated that the homologs of diphosphoinositol pentaki-sphosphate kinase(PPIP5K),VIH1 and VIH2,function redundantly to synthesize lnsP8,and that the vih1 vih2 double mutant overaccumulates Pi.SPX1 directly interacts with PHR1,the central regulator of Pi star­vation responses,to inhibit its function under Pi-replete conditions.However,this interaction is compro­mised in the vih1 vih2 double mutant,resulting in the constitutive induction of Pi starvation-induced genes,indicating that plant cells cannot sense cellular Pi status without lnsP8.Furthermore,we showed that lnsP8 could directly bind to the SPX domain of SPX1 and is essential for the interaction between SPX1 and PHR1.Collectively,our study suggests that lnsP8 is the intracellular Pi signaling molecule serving as the ligand of SPX1 for controlling Pi homeostasis in plants.