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The Arabidopsis cax3 mutants display altered salt tolerance, pH sensitivity and reduced plasma membrane H+-ATPase activity

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Abstract

Perturbing CAX1, an Arabidopsis vacuolar H+/Ca2+ antiporter, and the related vacuolar transporter CAX3, has been previously shown to cause severe growth defects; however, the specific function of CAX3 has remained elusive. Here, we describe plant phenotypes that are shared among cax1 and cax3 including an increased sensitivity to both abscisic acid (ABA) and sugar during germination, and an increased tolerance to ethylene during early seedling development. We have also identified phenotypes unique to cax3, namely salt, lithium and low pH sensitivity. We used biochemical measurements to ascribe these cax3 sensitivities to a reduction in vacuolar H+/Ca2+ transport during salt stress and decreased plasma membrane H+-ATPase activity. These findings catalog an array of CAX phenotypes and assign a specific role for CAX3 in response to salt tolerance.

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Abbreviations

35S:

35S Cauliflower mosaic virus promoter

ABA:

Abscisic acid

ACC:

1-Aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid

AHA:

Arabidopsis H+-ATPase

CAX:

Cation exchanger

MS:

Murashige and Skoog medium

P-ATPase:

Plasma membrane H+-ATPase

sCAX:

N-terminal truncated cation exchanger

V-ATPase:

Vacuolar-type H+-ATPase

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the United States Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service under Cooperative Agreement 58-6250-6001, National Science Foundation Grant #90344350 and USDA-CSREES #2005-34402-17121, Designing Foods for Health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. United States Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service Children’s Nutrition Research Center, Baylor College of Medicine, 1100 Bates Street, Houston, TX, 77030, USA

    Jian Zhao & Kendal D. Hirschi

  2. Instituto de Biotecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, A.P. 510-3, Col. Miraval, Cuernavaca, Morelos, 62250, México

    Bronwyn J. Barkla

  3. Department of Biology, Prairie View A&M University, Prairie View, TX, 77446, USA

    Joy Marshall

  4. Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester, 3.614 Stopford Building, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PT, UK

    Jon K. Pittman

  5. Vegetable and Fruit Improvement Center, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77845, USA

    Kendal D. Hirschi

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  1. Jian Zhao
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  2. Bronwyn J. Barkla
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  3. Joy Marshall
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Correspondence to Kendal D. Hirschi.

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Zhao, J., Barkla, B.J., Marshall, J. et al. The Arabidopsis cax3 mutants display altered salt tolerance, pH sensitivity and reduced plasma membrane H+-ATPase activity. Planta 227, 659–669 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-007-0648-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-007-0648-2

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