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PMID: 25035406 Published · ppublish English Journal Article Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

Transport of boron by the tassel-less1 aquaporin is critical for vegetative and reproductive development in maize.

The Plant cell ·Vol. 26 ·No. 7 ·2014-07-00 ·Pages 2978-95

Durbak AR, Phillips KA, Pike S, O'Neill MA, Mares J, Gallavotti A, Malcomber ST, Gassmann W, McSteen P

Abstract

The element boron (B) is an essential plant micronutrient, and B deficiency results in significant crop losses worldwide. The maize (Zea mays) tassel-less1 (tls1) mutant has defects in vegetative and inflorescence development, comparable to the effects of B deficiency. Positional cloning revealed that tls1 encodes a protein in the aquaporin family co-orthologous to known B channel proteins in other species. Transport assays show that the TLS1 protein facilitates the movement of B and water into Xenopus laevis oocytes. B content is reduced in tls1 mutants, and application of B rescues the mutant phenotype, indicating that the TLS1 protein facilitates the movement of B in planta. B is required to cross-link the pectic polysaccharide rhamnogalacturonan II (RG-II) in the cell wall, and the percentage of RG-II dimers is reduced in tls1 inflorescences, indicating that the defects may result from altered cell wall properties. Plants heterozygous for both tls1 and rotten ear (rte), the proposed B efflux transporter, exhibit a dosage-dependent defect in inflorescence development under B-limited conditions, indicating that both TLS1 and RTE function in the same biological processes. Together, our data provide evidence that TLS1 is a B transport facilitator in maize, highlighting the importance of B homeostasis in meristem function.

MeSH Terms
Animals Aquaporins/genetics,metabolism Biological Transport Borates/metabolism Boron/metabolism Cell Wall/metabolism Gene Expression Regulation, Plant Homeostasis Inflorescence/cytology,genetics,growth & development,physiology Meristem/cytology,genetics,growth & development,physiology Mutation Oocytes Phenotype Phylogeny Plant Proteins/genetics,metabolism Plant Shoots/cytology,genetics,growth & development,physiology Plants, Genetically Modified Reproduction Xenopus laevis Zea mays/cytology,genetics,growth & development,physiology
Chemicals
Aquaporins Borates Plant Proteins Boron
Authors & Affiliations
9 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Durbak Amanda R
Division of Biological Sciences, Bond Life Sciences Center, Interdisciplinary Plant Group, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211.
Phillips Kimberly A
Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802.
Pike Sharon
Division of Plant Sciences, Bond Life Sciences Center, Interdisciplinary Plant Group, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211.
O'Neill Malcolm A
Complex Carbohydrate Research Center, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602.
Mares Jonathan
Department of Biological Sciences, California State University, Long Beach, California 90840.
Gallavotti Andrea
Waksman Institute of Microbiology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854.
Malcomber Simon T
Department of Biological Sciences, California State University, Long Beach, California 90840.
Gassmann Walter
Division of Plant Sciences, Bond Life Sciences Center, Interdisciplinary Plant Group, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211.
McSteen Paula
Division of Biological Sciences, Bond Life Sciences Center, Interdisciplinary Plant Group, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211 mcsteenp@missouri.edu.
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Article Info
Journal
The Plant cell
Abbr.
Plant Cell
ISSN
1532-298X
DOI
10.1105/tpc.114.125898
Email
mcsteenp@missouri.edu
Published
2014-07-00
Epub
2014-00-17
Pages
2978-95
Language
English
Region
England
NLM ID
9208688
PMCID
PMC4145126
Subset
IM
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1105/tpc.114.125898 PMC Full Text View journal details
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