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Transport of K+ to the xylem is a key process in the mineral nutrition of the shoots. Although CIPK-CBL complexes have been widely shown to regulate K+ uptake transport systems, no information is available about the xylem ones. Here, we studied the physiological roles of the voltage-gated K+ channel SlSKOR and its regulation by the SlCIPK23-SlCBL1/9 complexes in tomato plants. We phenotyped gene-edited slskor and slcipk23 tomato knockout mutants and carried out two-electrode voltage-clamp (TEVC) and BiFC assays in Xenopus oocytes as key approaches. SlSKOR was preferentially expressed in the root stele and was important not only for K+ transport to shoots but also, indirectly, for that of Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, NO3−, and Cl−. Surprisingly, the SlCIPK23-SlCBL1/9 complexes turned out to be negative regulators of SlSKOR. Inhibition of SlSKOR by SlCIPK23-SlCBL1/9 was observed in Xenopus oocytes and tomato plants. Regulation of SKOR-like channels by CIPK23-CBL1 complexes was also present in Medicago, grapevine, and lettuce but not in Arabidopsis and saltwater cress. Our results provide a molecular framework for coordinating root K+ uptake and its translocation to the shoot by SlCIPK23-SlCBL1/9 in tomato plants. Moreover, they evidenced that CIPK-CBL-target networks have evolved differently in land plants

Drought is now recognized as the abiotic stress that causes most problems in agriculture, mainly due to the strong water demand from intensive culture and the effects of climate change, especially in arid/semi-arid areas. When plants suffer from water deficit (WD), a plethora of negative physiological alterations such as cell turgor loss, reduction of CO2 net assimilation rate, oxidative stress damage, and nutritional imbalances, among others, can lead to a decrease in the yield production and loss of commercial quality. Nutritional imbalances in plants grown under drought stress occur by decreasing water uptake and leaf transpiration, combined by alteration of nutrient uptake and long-distance transport processes. Plants try to counteract these effects by activating drought resistance mechanisms. Correct accumulation of salts and water constitutes an important portion of these mechanisms, in particular of those related to the cell osmotic adjustment and function of stomata. In recent years, molecular insights into the regulation of K+, Cl-, and water transport under drought have been gained. Therefore, this article brings an update on this topic. Moreover, agronomical practices that ameliorate drought symptoms of crops by improving nutrient homeostasis will also be presented.

Root cells take up K+ from the soil solution, and a fraction of the absorbed K+ is translocated to the shoot after being loaded into xylem vessels. K+ uptake and translocation are spatially separated processes. K+ uptake occurs in the cortex and epidermis whereas K+ translocation starts at the stele. Both uptake and translocation processes are expected to be linked, but the connection between them is not well characterized. Here, we studied K+ uptake and translocation using Rb+ as a tracer in wild-type Arabidopsis thaliana and in T-DNA insertion mutants in the K+ uptake or translocation systems. The relative amount of translocated Rb+ to the shoot was positively correlated with net Rb+ uptake rates, and the akt1 athak5 T-DNA mutant plants were more efficient in their allocation of Rb+ to shoots. Moreover, a mutation of SKOR and a reduced plant transpiration prevented the full upregulation of AtHAK5 gene expression and Rb+ uptake in K+-starved plants. Lastly, Rb+ was found to be retrieved from root xylem vessels, with AKT1 playing a significant role in K+-sufficient plants. Overall, our results suggest that K+ uptake and translocation are tightly coordinated via signals that regulate the expression of K+ transport systems

Potassium (K+) is a macronutrient known for its high mobility and positive charge, which allows efficient and fast control of the electrical balance and osmotic potential in plant cells. Such features allow K+ to remarkably contribute to plant stress adaptation. Some agricultural lands are deficient in K+, imposing a stress that reduces crop yield and makes fertilization a common practice. However, individual stress conditions in the field are rare, and crops usually face a combination of different stresses. As plant response to a stress combination cannot always be deduced from individual stress action, it is necessary to gain insights into the specific mechanisms that connect K+ homeostasis with other stress effects to improve plant performance in the context of climate change. Surprisingly, plant responses to environmental stresses under a K+-limiting scenario are poorly understood. In the present review, we summarize current knowledge and find substantial gaps regarding specific outcomes of K+ deficiency in addition to other environmental stresses. In this regard, combined nutrient deficiencies of K+ and other macronutrients are covered in the first part of the review and interactions arising from K+ deficiency with salinity, drought and biotic factors in the second part. Information available so far suggests a prominent role of potassium and nitrate transport systems and their regulatory proteins in the response of plants to several stress combinations. Thus, such molecular pathways, which are located at the crossroad between K+ homeostasis and environmental stresses, could be considered biotechnological targets in future studies

In grapevine, climate changes lead to increased berry potassium (K+) contents that result in must with low acidity. Consequently, wines are becoming ‘flat’ to the taste, with poor organoleptic properties and low potential aging, resulting in significant economic loss. Precise investigation into the molecular determinants controlling berry K+ accumulation during its development are only now emerging. Here, we report functional characterization by electrophysiology of a new grapevine Shaker-type K+ channel, VvK3.1. The analysis of VvK3.1 expression patterns was performed by qPCR and in situ hybridization. We found that VvK3.1 belongs to the AKT2 channel phylogenetic branch and is a weakly rectifying channel, mediating both inward and outward K+ currents. We showed that VvK3.1 is highly expressed in the phloem and in a unique structure located at the two ends of the petiole, identified as a pulvinus. From the onset of fruit ripening, all data support the role of the VvK3.1 channel in the massive K+ fluxes from the phloem cell cytosol to the berry apoplast during berry K+ loading. Moreover, the high amount of VvK3.1 transcripts detected in the pulvinus strongly suggests a role for this Shaker in the swelling and shrinking of motor cells involved in paraheliotropic leaf movements

The present invention discloses a potassium (K+) transporter gene (SIHAK5) in tomato plants whose silencing mutation in tomato plants leads to low intake of Cesium (Cs+) by the roots and reduced accumulation of Cs+ at the roots and fruits, and therefore protects said plants from accumulating Radiocesium reducing the risk of food products being contaminated with radiation. Furthermore, the silencing mutation results in parthenocarpy plants.

Regulation of root transport systems is essential under fluctuating nutrient supply. In the case of potassium (K), HAK/KUP/KT K transporters and voltage-gated K channels ensure root K uptake in a wide range of K concentrations. In Arabidopsis, the CIPK23/CBL1-9 complex regulates both transporter- and channel-mediated root K uptake. However, research about K homeostasis in crops is in demand due to species-specific mechanisms. In the present manuscript, we studied the contribution of the voltage-gated K channel LKT1 and the protein kinase SlCIPK23 to K uptake in tomato plants by analysing gene-edited knockout tomato mutant lines, together with two-electrode voltage-clamp experiments in Xenopus oocytes and protein–protein interaction analyses. It is shown that LKT1 is a crucial player in tomato K nutrition by contributing approximately 50% to root K uptake under K-sufficient conditions. Moreover, SlCIPK23 was responsible for approximately 100% of LKT1 and approximately 40% of the SlHAK5 K transporter activity in planta. Mg and Na compensated for K deficit in tomato roots to a large extent, and the accumulation of Na was strongly dependent on SlCIPK23 function. The role of CIPK23 in Na accumulation in tomato roots was not conserved in Arabidopsis, which expands the current set of CIPK23-like protein functions in plants.

Potassium (K) deficiency has consequences not only on cellular ion balance and transmembrane potential but also on metabolism. In fact, several enzymes are K-dependent including enzymes in catabolism, causing an alteration in glycolysis and respiration. In addition, K deficiency is associated with the induction of specific pathways and accumulation of metabolic biomarkers, such as putrescine. However, such drastic changes are usually observed when K deficiency is established. Here, we carried out a kinetic analysis with metabolomics to elucidate early metabolic events when nutrient conditions change from K-sufficiency to K-deficiency in Arabidopsis rosettes from both wild type and mutants affected in both K absorption and low-K signalling (hak5 akt1 cipk23). Our results show that mutants have a metabolomics pattern similar to K-deficient wild-type, showing a constitutive metabolic response to low K. In addition, shifting to low K conditions induces (i) changes in sugar metabolism and (ii) an accumulation of salicylic acid metabolites before the appearance of biomarkers of K deficiency (putrescine and aconitate), and such an accumulation is more pronounced in mutants. Our results suggest that early events in the response to low K conditions involve salicylic acid metabolism.

Potassium (K+) and cesium (Cs+) are chemically similar but while K+ is an essential nutrient, Cs+ can be toxic for living organisms, plants included. Two different situations could lead to problems derived from the presence of Cs+ in agricultural systems: (1) presence of Cs+ at high concentrations that could produce toxic effects on plants, (2) presence of micromolar concentrations of radiocesium, which can be accumulated in the plant and affect animal and human health through the food chain. While K+ uptake has been well described in tomato plants, information on molecular mechanisms involved in Cs+ accumulation in this species is absent. Here, we show that in tomato plants, high concentrations of Cs+ produce deficiency of K+ but do not induce high-affinity K+ uptake or the gene encoding the high-affinity K+ transporter SlHAK5. At these concentrations, Cs+ uptake takes place through a Ca2+-sensitive pathway, probably a non-selective cation channel. At micromolar concentrations, Cs+ is accumulated by a high-affinity uptake system upregulated in K+-starved plants. This high-affinity Cs+ uptake shares features with high-affinity K+ uptake. It is sensitive to NH4+ and insensitive to Ba2+ and Ca2+ and its presence parallels the pattern of SlHAK5 expression. Moreover, blockers of reactive oxygen species and ethylene action repress SlHAK5 and negatively regulate both high-affinity K+ and Cs+ uptake. Thus, we propose that SlHAK5 contributes to Cs+ uptake from micromolar concentrations in tomato plants and can constitute a pathway for radiocesium transfer from contaminated areas to the food chain

The high-affinity K+ transporter HAK5 is the major contributor to root K+ uptake from dilute solutions in K+-starved Arabidopsis plants. Its functionality is tightly regulated and its activity is enhanced under K+ starvation by the transcriptional induction of the AtHAK5 gene, and by the activation of the transporter via the AtCBL1-AtCIPK23 complex. In the present study, the 26 members of the Arabidopsis CIPK protein kinase family were screened in yeast for their capacity to activate HAK5-mediated K+ uptake. Among them, AtCIPK1 was the most efficient activator of AtHAK5. In addition, AtCIPK9, previously reported to participate in K+ homeostasis, also activated the transporter. In roots, the genes encoding AtCIPK1 and AtCIPK9 were induced by K+ deprivation and atcipk1 and atcipk9 Arabidopsis KO mutants showed a reduced AtHAK5-mediated Rb+ uptake. Activation of AtHAK5 by AtCIPK1 did not occur under hyperosmotic stress conditions, where AtCIPK1 function has been shown to be required to maintain plant growth. Taken together, our data contribute to the identification of the complex regulatory networks that control the high-affinity K+ transporter AtHAK5 and root K+ uptake.

descripción no proporcionada por scopus

The occurrence of radiocesium in food has raised sharp health concerns after nuclear accidents. Despitebeing present at low concentrations in contaminated soils (belowlM), cesium (Cs+) can be taken up bycrops and transported to their edible parts. This plant capacity to take up Cs+from low concentrations hasnotably affected the production of rice (Oryza sativaL.) in Japan after the nuclear accident at Fukushima in2011. Several strategies have been put into practice to reduce Cs+content in this crop species such as con-taminated soil removal or adaptation of agricultural practices, including dedicated fertilizer management,with limited impact or pernicious side-effects. Conversely, the development of biotechnological approachesaimed at reducing Cs+accumulation in rice remain challenging. Here, we show that inactivation of the Cs+-permeable K+transporter OsHAK1 with the CRISPR-Cas system dramatically reduced Cs+uptake by riceplants. Cs+uptake in rice roots and in transformed yeast cells that expressed OsHAK1 displayed very similarkinetics parameters. In rice, Cs+uptake is dependent on two functional properties of OsHAK1: (i) a poorcapacity of this system to discriminate between Cs+and K+; and (ii) a high capacity to transport Cs+fromvery low external concentrations that is likely to involve an active transport mechanism. In an experimentwith a Fukushima soil highly contaminated with137Cs+, plants lacking OsHAK1 function displayed strikinglyreduced levels of137Cs+in roots and shoots. These results open stimulating perspectives to smartly producesafe food in regions contaminated by nuclear accidents

Potassium (K+) and phosphorous (Pi) are two of the most important nutrients required by plants and there is an interest in studying how they are acquired. Most studies have focused on the characterization of the mechanisms involved in K+ and Pi uptake and their distribution within the plants, as well as the regulatory mechanisms involved. Evidence is emerging which points to interactions in the nutrition of different nutrients and to the existence of crosstalk in the signaling cascades regulating their acquisition. However, the interaction between K+ and Pi has been scarcely studied. Here we show that high concentrations of K+ in the external solution inhibit Pi uptake and impair Pi nutrition in Arabidopsis plants, resulting in the induction of phosphate starvation response (PSR) and the upregulation of genes encoding root phosphate uptake systems. The high K+-induced PSR depends on the PHR1 and PHL1 transcription factors that are key pieces of Pi signaling in Arabidopsis. Importantly, high K+ reduces arsenic accumulation in plants and its toxic effects. The results presented may help to design strategies to reduce Pi deficiency as well as the accumulation of arsenic in crops.