Journal
PLANT JOURNAL
Volume 80, Issue 3, Pages 516-526Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/tpj.12651
Keywords
wheat; Triticum aestivum; sodium exclusion; HKT; salt tolerance; RNA interference
Categories
Funding
- Australian Research Council (ARC)
- Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) of Australia
- ARC [FT130100709, CE140100008]
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Bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) has a major salt tolerance locus, Kna1, responsible for the maintenance of a high cytosolic K+/Na+ ratio in the leaves of salt stressed plants. The Kna1 locus encompasses a large DNA fragment, the distal 14% of chromosome 4DL. Limited recombination has been observed at this locus making it difficult to map genetically and identify the causal gene. Here, we decipher the function of TaHKT1;5-D, a candidate gene underlying the Kna1 locus. Transport studies using the heterologous expression systems Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Xenopus laevis oocytes indicated that TaHKT1;5-D is a Na+-selective transporter. Transient expression in Arabidopsis thaliana mesophyll protoplasts and in situ polymerase chain reaction indicated that TaHKT1;5-D is localised on the plasma membrane in the wheat root stele. RNA interference-induced silencing decreased the expression of TaHKT1;5-D in transgenic bread wheat lines which led to an increase in the Na+ concentration in the leaves. This indicates that TaHKT1;5-D retrieves Na+ from the xylem vessels in the root and has an important role in restricting the transport of Na+ from the root to the leaves in bread wheat. Thus, TaHKT1;5-D confers the essential salinity tolerance mechanism in bread wheat associated with the Kna1 locus via shoot Na+ exclusion and is critical in maintaining a high K+/Na+ ratio in the leaves. These findings show there is potential to increase the salinity tolerance of bread wheat by manipulation of HKT1;5 genes.
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