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Updated: Jul 6, 2025

Extraction and Quantification of Soluble, Radiolabeled Inositol Polyphosphates from Different Plant Species using SAX-HPLC
Published on: June 26, 2020
Visualizing plant intracellular inorganic orthophosphate distribution
Meina Guo1,2, Wenyuan Ruan3, Ruili Li1
1State Key Laboratory of Efficient Utilization of Arid and Semi-arid Arable Land in Northern China/Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and Fertilizer, Ministry of Agriculture, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China.
Abstract:
Intracellular inorganic orthophosphate (Pi) distribution and homeostasis profoundly affect plant growth and development. However, its distribution patterns remain elusive owing to the lack of efficient cellular Pi imaging methods. Here we develop a rapid colorimetric Pi imaging method, inorganic orthophosphate staining assay (IOSA), that can semi-quantitatively image intracellular Pi with high resolution. We used IOSA to reveal the alteration of cellular Pi distribution caused by Pi starvation or mutations that alter Pi homeostasis in two model plants, rice and Arabidopsis, and found that xylem parenchyma cells and basal node sieve tube element cells play a critical role in Pi homeostasis in rice. We also used IOSA to screen for mutants altered in cellular Pi homeostasis. From this, we have identified a novel cellular Pi distribution regulator, HPA1/PHO1;1, specifically expressed in the companion and xylem parenchyma cells regulating phloem Pi translocation from the leaf tip to the leaf base in rice. Taken together, IOSA provides a powerful method for visualizing cellular Pi distribution and facilitates the analysis of Pi signalling and homeostasis from the level of the cell to the whole plant.
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