Potassium transporter KUP9 regulates plant response to K⁺ deficiency and affects carbohydrate allocation in...

Due to the essential roles of K⁺ in plants, its up to 10% share in plant dry matter, and its mostly low availability in soil, effective potassium management poses a significant challenge for the plant. To enable efficient uptake and allocation of K⁺, numerous transporters and channels have evolved. During the last two decades, efforts have been made to characterise these transport proteins in Arabidopsis thaliana using knock-out mutants. Several KT/HAK/KUP transporters have been assigned specific functions. In this work, we contribute to an understanding of the role of AtKUP9 in plant adaptation to low K⁺ availability. We found that in vitro, atkup9 has reduced lateral root growth under low-K conditions, and root apical meristem proliferation is reduced in lateral roots compared with the primary root. We also documented AtKUP9 expression in both roots and shoots and showed that AtKUP9 expression is modulated during plant ontogeny and as a result of K⁺ deprivation. Altered carbohydrate allocation was also documented in atkup9. Mutants exported more soluble saccharides from leaves under K⁺ rich conditions and, under K⁺ deficiency, atkup9 accumulated more soluble saccharides in the shoots. A possible role of AtKUP9 in these processes is discussed.