The PSE1 gene modulates lead tolerance in Arabidopsis

Lead (Pb) is a dangerous heavy metal contaminant with high toxicity to plants. However, the regulatory mechanism of plant Pb tolerance is poorly understood. Here, we showed that the PSE1 gene confers Pb tolerance in Arabidopsis. A novel Pb-sensitive mutant pse1-1 (Pb-sensitive1) was isolated by screening T-DNA insertion mutants. PSE1 encodes an unknown protein with an NC domain and was localized in the cytoplasm. PSE1 was induced by Pb stress, and the pse1-1 loss-of-function mutant showed enhanced Pb sensitivity; overexpression of PSE1 resulted in increased Pb tolerance. PSE1-overexpressing plants showed increased Pb accumulation, which was accompanied by the activation of phytochelatin (PC) synthesis and related gene expression. In contrast, the pse1-1 mutant showed reduced Pb accumulation, which was associated with decreased PC synthesis and related gene expression. In addition, the expression of PDR12 was also increased in PSE1-overexpressing plants subjected to Pb stress. Our results suggest that PSE1 regulates Pb tolerance mainly through glutathione-dependent PC synthesis by activating the expression of the genes involved in PC synthesis and at least partially through activating the expression of the ABC transporter PDR12/ABCG40.