Vacuolar Ca2+/H+ transport activity is required for systemic phosphate homeostasis involving shoot-to-root signaling in Arabidopsis

Plant Physiol. 2011 Jul;156(3):1176-89. doi: 10.1104/pp.111.175257. Epub 2011 May 5.

Abstract

Calcium ions (Ca(2+)) and Ca(2+)-related proteins mediate a wide array of downstream processes involved in plant responses to abiotic stresses. In Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), disruption of the vacuolar Ca(2+)/H(+) transporters CAX1 and CAX3 causes notable alterations in the shoot ionome, including phosphate (P(i)) content. In this study, we showed that the cax1/cax3 double mutant displays an elevated P(i) level in shoots as a result of increased P(i) uptake in a miR399/PHO2-independent signaling pathway. Microarray analysis of the cax1/cax3 mutant suggests the regulatory function of CAX1 and CAX3 in suppressing the expression of a subset of shoot P(i) starvation-responsive genes, including genes encoding the PHT1;4 P(i) transporter and two SPX domain-containing proteins, SPX1 and SPX3. Moreover, although the expression of several PHT1 genes and PHT1;1/2/3 proteins is not up-regulated in the root of cax1/cax3, results from reciprocal grafting experiments indicate that the cax1/cax3 scion is responsible for high P(i) accumulation in grafted plants and that the pht1;1 rootstock is sufficient to moderately repress such P(i) accumulation. Based on these findings, we propose that CAX1 and CAX3 mediate a shoot-derived signal that modulates the activity of the root P(i) transporter system, likely in part via posttranslational regulation of PHT1;1 P(i) transporters.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Antiporters / metabolism*
  • Arabidopsis / drug effects
  • Arabidopsis / genetics
  • Arabidopsis / metabolism*
  • Arabidopsis Proteins / metabolism
  • Biological Transport / drug effects
  • Calcium / pharmacology
  • Cation Transport Proteins / metabolism*
  • Genes, Plant / genetics
  • Homeostasis* / drug effects
  • Models, Biological
  • Mutation / genetics
  • Nuclear Proteins / metabolism
  • Phosphates / metabolism*
  • Phosphates / pharmacology
  • Plant Roots / metabolism*
  • Plant Shoots / metabolism*
  • Signal Transduction / drug effects
  • Suppression, Genetic / drug effects
  • Vacuoles / drug effects
  • Vacuoles / metabolism*

Substances

  • Antiporters
  • Arabidopsis Proteins
  • CAX3 protein, Arabidopsis
  • Cation Transport Proteins
  • Nuclear Proteins
  • Phosphates
  • SPX1 protein, Arabidopsis
  • calcium-hydrogen antiporters
  • Calcium