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Phytate as a root exudate is rare in plants as it mainly serves as a P storage in the seeds; however, As-hyperaccumulator Pteris vittataeffectively secretes phytate and utilizes phytate-P, especially under As exposure. This study investigated the effects of As on its phytate and phytase exudation and the impacts of As and/or phytate on each other’s uptake in P. vittatathrough two hydroponic experiments. Under 10–100 μM arsenate (AsV), the exudation of phytate and phytase by P. vittatawas increased by 50–72% to 20.4–23.4 μmol h–1g–1and by 28–104% to 18.6–29.5 nmol h–1plant–1, but they were undetected in non-hyperaccumulator Pteris ensiformisat 10 μM AsV. Furthermore, compared to 500 μM phytate, the phytate concentration in the growth media was reduced by 69% to 155 μM, whereas the P and As contents in P. vittatafronds and roots were enhanced by 68–134% and 44–81% to 2423–2954 and 82–407 mg kg–1under 500 μM phytate plus 50 μM AsV. The increased P/As uptake in P. vittatawas probably attributed to 3.0–4.5-fold increase in expressions of P transporters PvPht1;3–1;4. Besides, under As exposure, plant P may be converted to phytate in P. vittataroots, thereby increasing phytate’s contents by 84% to 840 mg kg–1. Overall, our results suggest that As-induced phytate/phytase exudation and phytate-P uptake stimulate its growth and As hyperaccumulation by P. vittata.

Selenate enhances arsenic (As) accumulation in As-hyperaccumulator Pteris vittata, but the associated molecular mechanisms are unclear. Here, we investigated the mechanisms of selenate-induced arsenic accumulation by exposing P. vittatato 50 μM arsenate (AsV50) and 1.25 (Se1.25) or 5 μM (Se5) selenate in hydroponics. After 2 weeks, plant biomass, plant As and Se contents, As speciation in plant and growth media, and important genes related to As detoxification in P. vittatawere determined. These genes included P transporters PvPht1;3and PvPht1;4(AsV uptake), arsenate reductases PvHAC1and PvHAC2(AsV reduction), and arsenite (AsIII) antiporters PvACR3and PvACR3;2(AsIII translocation) in the roots, and AsIII antiporters PvACR3;1and PvACR3;3(AsIII sequestration) in the fronds. The results show that Se1.25was more effective than Se5in increasing As accumulation in both P. vittataroots and fronds, which increased by 27 and 153% to 353 and 506 mg kg–1. The As speciation analyses show that selenate increased the AsIII levels in P. vittata, with 124–282% more AsIII being translocated into the fronds. The qPCR analyses indicate that Se1.25upregulated the gene expression of PvHAC1by 1.2-fold, and PvACR3and PvACR3;2by 1.0- to 2.5-fold in the roots, and PvACR3;1and PvACR3;3by 0.6- to 1.1-fold in the fronds under AsV50treatment. Though arsenate enhanced gene expression of P transporters PvPht1;3and PvPht1;4, selenate had little effect. Our results indicate that selenate effectively increased As accumulation in P. vittata, mostly by increasing reduction of AsV to AsIII in the roots, AsIII translocation from the roots to fronds, and AsIII sequestration into the vacuoles in the fronds. The results suggest that selenate may be used to enhance phytoremediation of As-contaminated soils using P. vittata.