Inositol transporters AtINT2 and AtINT4 regulate arsenic accumulation in Arabidopsis seeds

Duan GL, Hu Y, Schneider S, Mcdermott J, Chen J, Sauer N, Rosen BP, Daus B, Liu Z, Zhu YG (2015)

Publication Language: English

Publication Status: Published

Publication Type: Journal article, Original article

Publication year: 2015

Journal

Nature Plants Nature Publishing Group

Book Volume: 2

Article Number: 15202

Journal Issue: 1

DOI: 10.1038/nplants.2015.202

Abstract

Arsenic contamination of groundwater and soils threatens the health of tens of millions of people worldwide. Understanding the way in which arsenic is taken up by crops such as rice, which serve as a significant source of arsenic in the human diet, is therefore important. Membrane transport proteins that catalyse arsenic uptake by roots, and translocation through the xylem to shoots, have been characterized in a number of plants, including rice. The transporters responsible for loading arsenic from the xylem into the phloem and on into the seeds, however, are yet to be identified. Here, we show that transporters responsible for inositol uptake in the phloem in Arabidopsis also transport arsenic. Transformation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae with AtINT2 or AtINT4 led to increased arsenic accumulation and increased sensitivity to arsenite. Expression of AtINT2 in Xenopus laevis oocytes also induced arsenite import. Disruption of AtINT2 or AtINT4 in Arabidopsis thaliana led to a reduction in phloem, silique and seed arsenic concentrations in plants fed with arsenite through the roots, relative to wild-type plants. These plants also exhibited a large drop in silique and seed arsenic concentrations when fed with arsenite through the leaves. We conclude that in Arabidopsis, inositol transporters are responsible for arsenite loading into the phloem, the key source of arsenic in seeds.

Authors with CRIS profile

Sabine Schneider Lehrstuhl für Molekulare Pflanzenphysiologie Norbert Sauer Lehrstuhl für Molekulare Pflanzenphysiologie

Involved external institutions

Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) / 中国科学院 CN China (CN) Oakland University US United States (USA) (US) Helmholtz-Zentrum für Umweltforschung (UFZ) / Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research DE Germany (DE) Florida International University US United States (USA) (US)

How to cite

APA:

Duan, G.-L., Hu, Y., Schneider, S., Mcdermott, J., Chen, J., Sauer, N.,... Zhu, Y.-G. (2015). Inositol transporters AtINT2 and AtINT4 regulate arsenic accumulation in Arabidopsis seeds. Nature Plants, 2(1). https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nplants.2015.202

MLA:

Duan, Gui-Lan, et al. "Inositol transporters AtINT2 and AtINT4 regulate arsenic accumulation in Arabidopsis seeds." Nature Plants 2.1 (2015).

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