Aluminum stress impairs water transport via PIP aquaporin suppression in tomato
These videos have been matched automatically. Contact us if they are not relevant.
These videos have been matched automatically. Contact us if they are not relevant.
View abstract on PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.Aluminum toxicity in tomato plants inhibits root growth and reduces water transport by downregulating aquaporin (PIP) gene expression. This study investigates the impact of aluminum on tomato water relations and identifies specific PIPs involved in aluminum tolerance.
Area Of Science
- Plant Physiology
- Environmental Stress Biology
- Molecular Plant Science
Background
- Aluminum (Al) is a prevalent metal in acidic soils, posing toxicity to plants, particularly inhibiting root growth in sensitive species like tomato.
- Aluminum toxicity disrupts plant water relations, leading to reduced gas exchange and impaired water transport from roots to shoots.
- Aquaporins (AQPs), especially plasma membrane intrinsic proteins (PIPs), are crucial for water transport, and their role in aluminum stress response is under investigation.
Purpose Of The Study
- To investigate the hypothesis that aluminum exposure downregulates specific PIPs in tomato, causing reduced water transport and growth inhibition.
- To analyze the effects of aluminum on tomato plant water relations, including gene expression, hydraulic conductance, and hydration status.
- To identify potential aquaporin targets for enhancing aluminum tolerance in tomato through biotechnological approaches.
Main Methods
- Quantified expression of selected AQP genes (PIP1 and PIP2 subfamilies) in tomato roots under aluminum stress.
- Measured root hydraulic conductance (Lp<sub>r</sub>), root xylem sap pH, total plant transpiration (E<sub>plant</sub>), stomatal conductance (g<sub>s</sub>), leaf water potential (Ψ<sub>leaf</sub>), and relative water content (RWC).
- Performed biometric analyses and aluminum quantification in tomato plants exposed to aluminum for up to 7 days.
Main Results
- Aluminum exposure significantly decreased the expression of most PIP1 and PIP2 aquaporin genes in tomato roots, except for SlPIP2;11, starting from 120 hours.
- Reduced expression of specific PIPs (SlPIP1;3, SlPIP1;5, SlPIP1;7, and SlPIP2;8) correlated with decreased root hydraulic conductance, transpiration, and increased xylem sap pH.
- While SlPIP2;11 expression was upregulated, it was insufficient to counteract the negative effects of aluminum on plant water status, indicating its potential role in aluminum tolerance.
Conclusions
- Aluminum toxicity in tomato is associated with the downregulation of key aquaporin genes, impairing root water uptake and transport.
- Specific PIP isoforms are implicated in the plant's response to aluminum stress, affecting hydraulic conductivity and overall water relations.
- The SlPIP2;11 aquaporin presents a potential target for future research aimed at developing aluminum-tolerant tomato varieties through genetic engineering.
These videos have been matched automatically. Contact us if they are not relevant.
These videos have been matched automatically. Contact us if they are not relevant.
Related Concept Videos
Water plays a significant role in the life cycle of plants. However, insufficient or excess of water can be detrimental and pose a serious threat to plants.
Under normal conditions, water taken up by the plant evaporates from leaves and other parts in a process called transpiration. In times of drought stress, water that evaporates by transpiration far exceeds the water absorbed from the soil, causing plants to wilt. The general plant response to drought stress is the synthesis of hormone...
Though evaporation from plant leaves drives transpiration, it also results in loss of water. Because water is critical for photosynthetic reactions and other cellular processes, evolutionary pressures on plants in different environments have driven the acquisition of adaptations that reduce water loss.
In land plants, the uppermost cell layer of a plant leaf, called the epidermis, is coated with a waxy substance called the cuticle. This hydrophobic layer is composed of the polymer cutin and...
Aquaporins or AQPs are a family of integral membrane proteins whose primary function is to transport water, while some called aquaglyceroporins also transport glycerol. In addition, aquaporins have also been suspected to be involved in transporting volatile substances, such as carbon dioxide and ammonia, across membranes. Such AQPs that act as gas channels are often highly expressed in cells involved in the gaseous exchange, such as red blood cells, epithelial cells, and pulmonary capillaries.
Salt stress—which can be triggered by high salt concentrations in a plant’s environment—can significantly affect plant growth and crop production by influencing photosynthesis and the absorption of water and nutrients.
Plant cell cytoplasm has a high solute concentration, which causes water to flow from the soil into the plant due to osmosis. However, excess salt in the surrounding soil increases the soil solute concentration, reducing the plant’s ability to take up...
Tonicity describes the capacity of a cell to lose or gain water. It depends on the quantity of solute that does not penetrate the membrane. Tonicity delimits the magnitude and direction of osmosis and results in three possible scenarios that alter the volume of a cell: hypertonicity, hypotonicity, and isotonicity. Due to differences in structure and physiology, tonicity of plant cells is different from that of animal cells in some scenarios.
Plants and Hypotonic Environments
Unlike animal...
Plant cells maintain appropriate osmotic balance in extreme conditions. For instance, plants in dry environments store water in vacuoles, limit the opening of their stoma, and have thick, waxy cuticles to prevent unnecessary water loss. Some species of plants that live in salty environments store salt in their roots. As a result, water osmosis occurs in the root from the surrounding soil.
Tonicity
Tonicity describes the capacity of a cell to lose or gain water depending on the solute...