Mechanisms of oat (Avena sativa L.) acclimation to phosphate deficiency

Background. Deficiency of available forms of phosphorus is common in most soils and causes reduction of crop plants growth and yield. Recently, model plants responses to phosphate (Pi) deficiency have been intensively studied. However, acclimation mechanisms of cereals like oat (Avena sativa L.), to low Pi stress remains not fully understood. Oat plants have been usually cultured on poor soils, with a low nutrient content, but their responses to such conditions are not well known, therefore the main goal of the study was to investigate the mechanisms that enable oat plants to grow under low Pi conditions. Methods. Four oat cultivars in(A. sativa, cv. Arab, Krezus, Rajtar and Szakal) were grown for 'three weeks a nutrient media with variousi sources: norganic KH2PO4 (control), organic phytate (PA) and with no phosphate (P). The effects of Pi deficiency on the level of P, oat growth parameters, intensity of photosynthesis, plant productivity, root exudation ability, localization, activity and isoforms of acid phosphatases, enzymes involved in Pi mobilization, were estimated. In addition, the effect of mycorrhization on plant growth was also observed. Results. All studied oat cultivars grown on Pi -deficient media had significantly decreased Pi content in the tissues. Pi deficiency caused inhibition of shoot growth, but generally it did not affect root elongation; root diameter was decreased, rootishoot ratios increased, whereas PA plants showed a similar growth to control. Photosynthesis rate and productivity parameters decreased under low Pi nutrition, however, sugar content generally increased. Studied oat cultivars did not respond. to low Pi via increased xudation of carboxylate.s from the roots, as pH changes in the growth media were enot observed. P. starvation significantly inincreased the activity of extracellular and intracellular acid phosphatases (APas.es).comparison to the control plants. Three.l majorAPase isoforms.. were detected in oat tissues and the isoform pattern' was similar in all studied conditions, usually with a higher level of one of the isoforms under Pi starvation. Generally no significant effects of mycorrhizal colonization on growth of oat cultivars were observed. Discussion. We postulated that acid phosphatases played the most important role in oat cultivars acclimation to Pi deficiency, especially extracellular enzymes involved in Pi aCqUiSitiOn from soil organic P esters. These APases arhee mainly located in the epidermis of young roots, and may be released to the rhizospre,On the other hand, intracellular APases couldbe involved in fast Pi remobilization from internal sources. Our study showed that oat, contrast to other plants, can use phytates as the sole source of P. The studied oat cultivars demonstrated similar acclimation mechanisms to Pi deficiency, however, depending on stress level, they can use different pools of acid, phosphatases.