Rice phosphate transporters associated with phosphate uptake in rice roots colonised with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi

The completed rice-genome sequence was screened with a known inorganic phosphate (Pi) transporter sequence to reveal a family of 13 Pi transporters. This family can be used for studies into Pi acquisition and translocation throughout the plant. Plants that form symbiotic associations with arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi are of particular interest with respect to Pi acquisition because of their ability to utilize both direct and fungal pathways of uptake. Localization of transcripts of two Pi transporters by real-time RT-PCR and in situ hybridization were conducted in rice subjected to low Pi, high Pi, and AM colonization. One Pi transporter, ORYsa;Phtl;13, was detected in rice roots under all growth conditions. ORYsa;Pht1;11 was only expressed in roots colonized by AM fungi. Antisense RNA probes of ORYsa;Pht1; 11 localized to cortical cells containing arbuscules and hyphal coils, formed by Glomus intraradices Schenck and Smith and Scutellospora calospora (Nicolson and Gerdemann) Walker and Sanders, respectively. Localization of the ORYsa;Phtl;13 probes was similar to that observed for ORYsa;Phtl;l I in colonized rice roots. This research proposes that at least two rice Pi transporters are involved in acquiring Pi via AM fungi, emphasising the complexity of Pi acquisition in plants with access to two Pi uptake pathways.