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Potassium deficiency in plants: effects and signaling cascades

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Abstract

Potassium (K+) is an important macronutrient for plant growth and productivity. It fulfills important functions and it is widely included in fertilization management strategies to increase crop production. Although K+ is one of the most abundant elements of the earth crust, its availability to plants is usually limited leading to severe reduction in plant growth and yield. In plants, K+ shortage induces several responses at different levels: morphological, physiological, biochemical, and molecular. Activation of signaling cascades including reactive oxygen species, phytohormones (ethylene, auxin, and jasmonic acid), Ca2+, and phosphatidic acid is also triggered. In this review, we summarize the main of these adaptive responses evolved by plants to cope with K+ deficiency in the rhizosphere.

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  1. Laboratoire des Plantes Extrêmophiles, Centre de Biotechnologie à la Technopole de Borj Cédria, BP 901, Hammam-Lif, 2050, Tunisie

    Chokri Hafsi, Ahmed Debez & Chedly Abdelly

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  1. Chokri Hafsi
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Hafsi, C., Debez, A. & Abdelly, C. Potassium deficiency in plants: effects and signaling cascades. Acta Physiol Plant 36, 1055–1070 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11738-014-1491-2

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