The assembly and maintenance of cilia depends on intraflagellar transport (IFT). Activated IFT motor kinesin-II enters the cilium with loaded IFT particles comprising IFT-A and IFT-B complexes. At the ciliary tip, kinesin-II becomes inactivated, and IFT particles are released. Moreover, the rate of IFT entry is dynamically regulated during cilium assembly. However, the regulatory mechanism of IFT entry and loading/unloading of IFT particles remains elusive. We show that the kinesin-II motor subunit FLA8, a homolog of KIF3B, is phosphorylated on the conserved S663 by a calcium-dependent kinase in Chlamydomonas. This phosphorylation disrupts the interaction between kinesin-II and IFT-B, inactivates kinesin-II and inhibits IFT entry, and is also required for IFT-B unloading at the ciliary tip. Furthermore, our data suggest that the IFT entry rate is controlled by regulation of the cellular level of phosphorylated FLA8. Therefore, FLA8 phosphorylation acts as a molecular switch to control IFT entry and turnaround.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are considered as a potential biotechnological tool for improving phytostabilization efficiency and plant tolerance to heavy metal-contaminated soils. However, the mechanisms through which AMF help to alleviate metal toxicity in plants are still poorly understood. A greenhouse experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of two AMF species (Funneliformis mosseae and Rhizophagus intraradices) on the growth, Pb accumulation, photosynthesis and antioxidant enzyme activities of a leguminous tree (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) at Pb addition levels of 0, 500, 1000 and 2000 mg kg-1 soil. AMF symbiosis decreased Pb concentrations in the leaves and promoted the accumulation of biomass as well as photosynthetic pigment contents. Mycorrhizal plants had higher gas exchange capacity, non-photochemistry efficiency, and photochemistry efficiency compared with non-mycorrhizal plants. The enzymatic activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), ascorbate peroxidases (APX) and glutathione peroxidase (GPX) were enhanced, and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and malondialdehyde (MDA) contents were reduced in mycorrhizal plants. These findings suggested that AMF symbiosis could protect plants by alleviating cellular oxidative damage in response to Pb stress. Furthermore, mycorrhizal dependency on plants increased with increasing Pb stress levels, indicating that AMF inoculation likely played a more important role in plant Pb tolerance in heavily contaminated soils. Overall, both F. mosseae and R. intraradices were able to maintain efficient symbiosis with R. pseudoacacia in Pb polluted soils. AMF symbiosis can improve photosynthesis and reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging capabilities and decrease Pb concentrations in leaves to alleviate Pb toxicity in R. pseudoacacia. Our results suggest that the application of the two AMF species associated with R. pseudoacacia could be a promising strategy for enhancing the phytostabilization efficiency of Pb contaminated soils.

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