A role for the OsHKT 2;1 sodium transporter in potassium use efficiency in rice.

Increasing the potassium use efficiency (KUE) of crops is important for agricultural sustainability. However, a greater understanding of this complex trait is required to develop new, high-KUE cultivars. To this end, a genome-wide association study (GWAS) was applied to diverse rice (Oryza sativa L.) genotypes grown under potassium-stressed and -replete conditions. Using high-stringency criteria, the genetic architecture of KUE was uncovered, together with the breadth of physiological responses to low-potassium stress. Specifically, three quantitative trait loci (QTLs) were identified, which contained >90 candidate genes. Of these, the sodium transporter gene OsHKT2;1 emerged as a key factor that impacts on KUE based on (i) the correlation between shoot Na+ and KUE, and (ii) higher levels of HKT2;1 expression in high-KUE lines.

Genome-wide association studies to identify rice salt-tolerance markers.

Salinity is an ever increasing menace that affects agriculture worldwide. Crops such as rice are salt sensitive, but its degree of susceptibility varies widely between cultivars pointing to extensive genetic diversity that can be exploited to identify genes and proteins that are relevant in the response of rice to salt stress. We used a diversity panel of 306 rice accessions and collected phenotypic data after short (6 h), medium (7 d) and long (30 d) salinity treatment (50 mm NaCl). A genome-wide association study (GWAS) was subsequently performed, which identified around 1200 candidate genes from many functional categories, but this was treatment period dependent. Further analysis showed the presence of cation transporters and transcription factors with a known role in salinity tolerance and those that hitherto were not known to be involved in salt stress. Localization analysis of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) showed the presence of several hundred non-synonymous SNPs (nsSNPs) in coding regions and earmarked specific genomic regions with increased numbers of nsSNPs. It points to components of the ubiquitination pathway as important sources of genetic diversity that could underpin phenotypic variation in stress tolerance.

Allelic variation in the vacuolar TPK1 channel affects its calcium dependence and may impact on stomatal conductance.

Natural variation can be exploited to identify allelic variants of proteins. In this study, patch clamp was used to determine transport properties of two AtTPK1 alleles from Landsberg and Kas-2 ecotypes. No difference in conductance or ion selectivity was observed but the Kas version of TPK1 showed different Ca(2+) dependence in its open probability compared to Ler. Leaves from Kas showed lower rates of water loss than those of Ler, in either the absence or presence of ABA, an observation that is consistent with higher TPK1 channel activity at comparable cytoplasmic Ca(2+) concentrations. A model that explains the results is presented.

Historical arsenic contamination of soil due to long-term phosphate fertiliser applications.

Archived samples from the Park Grass Experiment, established in 1856, were analysed to determine the impacts of long-term phosphate fertiliser applications on arsenic concentrations in soil and herbage. In plots receiving 35 kg P ha(-1) annually (+P), topsoil As concentrations almost doubled from an initial value of ∼10 mg kg(-1) during 1888-1947 and remained stable thereafter. The phosphate fertilisers used before 1948 contained 401-1575 mg As kg(-1), compared to 1.6-20.3 mg As kg(-1) in the later samples. Herbage samples from the +P plots collected during 1888-1947 contained significantly more As than those from the -P plots, but later samples did not differ significantly. Mass-balance calculations show that the increase in soil As can be explained by the As input from P fertiliser applications before 1948. The results demonstrate that the P fertilisers used on the Park Grass Experiment before 1948 caused substantial As contamination of the soil.