Arabidopsis inositol pentakisphosphate 2-kinase, AtIPK1, is required for growth and modulates phosphate homeostasis at the transcriptional level

Abstract

Inositol hexakisphosphate (IP 6) provides a phosphorous reservoir in plant seeds; in addition, along with its biosynthesis intermediates and derivatives, IP 6 also plays important roles in diverse developmental and physiological processes. Disruption of the Arabidopsis inositol pentakisphosphate 2-kinase coding gene AtIPK1 was previously shown to reduce IP 6 content in vegetative tissues and affect phosphate (Pi) sensing. Here we show that AtIPK1 is required for sustaining plant growth, as null mutants are non-viable. An incomplete loss-of-function mutant, atipk1-1, exhibited disturbed Pi homeostasis and overaccumulated Pi as a consequence of increased Pi uptake activity and root-to-shoot Pi translocation. The atipk1-1 mutants also showed a Pi deficiency-like root system architecture with reduced primary root and enhanced lateral root growth. Transcriptome analysis indicated that a subset of Pi starvation-responsive genes was transcriptionally perturbed in the atipk1-1 mutants and the expression of multiple genes involved in Pi uptake, allocation, and remobilization was increased. Genetic and transcriptional analyses suggest that disturbance of Pi homeostasis caused by atipk1 mutation involved components in addition to PHR1(-like) transcription factors. Notably, the transcriptional increase of a number of Pi starvation-responsive genes in the atipk1-1 mutants is correlated with the reduction of histone variant H2A.Z occupation in chromatin. The myo-inositol-1-phosphate synthase mutants, atmips1 and atmips2 with comparable reduction in vegetative IP 6 to that in the atipk1-1 mutants did not overaccumulate Pi, suggesting that Pi homeostasis modulated by AtIPK1 is not solely attributable to IP 6 level. This study reveals that AtIPK1 has important roles in growth and Pi homeostasis.