Increased tolerance to salt stress in the phosphate-accumulating Arabidopsis mutants siz1 and pho2

Abstract

High salinity is an environmental factor that inhibits plant growth and development, leading to large losses in crop yields. We report here that mutations in SIZ1 or PHO2, which cause more accumulation of phosphate compared with the wild type, enhance tolerance to salt stress. The siz1 and pho2 mutations reduce the uptake and accumulation of Na(+). These mutations are also able to suppress the Na(+) hypersensitivity of the sos3-1 mutant, and genetic analyses suggest that SIZ1 and SOS3 or PHO2 and SOS3 have an additive effect on the response to salt stress. Furthermore, the siz1 mutation cannot suppress the Li(+) hypersensitivity of the sos3-1 mutant. These results indicate that the phosphate-accumulating mutants siz1 and pho2 reduce the uptake and accumulation of Na(+), leading to enhanced salt tolerance, and that, genetically, SIZ1 and PHO2 are likely independent of SOS3-dependent salt signaling.