Genomic scale profiling of nutrient and trace elements in Arabidopsis thaliana

Abstract

Understanding the functional connections between genes, proteins, metabolites and mineral ions is one of biology's greatest challenges in the postgenomic era. We describe here the use of mineral nutrient and trace element profiling as a tool to determine the biological significance of connections between a plant's genome and its elemental profile. Using inductively coupled plasma spectroscopy, we quantified 18 elements, including essential macro- and micronutrients and various nonessential elements, in shoots of 6,000 mutagenized M2 Arabidopsis thaliana plants. We isolated 51 mutants with altered elemental profiles. One mutant contains a deletion in FRD3, a gene known to control iron-deficiency responses in A. thaliana. Based on the frequency of elemental profile mutations, we estimate 2-4% of the A. thaliana genome is involved in regulating the plant's nutrient and trace element content. These results demonstrate the utility of elemental profiling as a useful functional genomics tool.

Arabidopsis NPCC6/NaKR1 Is a Phloem Mobile Metal Binding Protein Necessary for Phloem Function and Root Meristem Maintenance

“…The mutant and Col-0 plants were grown under various soil conditions, and the high Na + and K + phenotypes were consistently observed. Figures 2A to 2C show results from a typical experiment in which plants were grown under conditions described by Lahner et al (2003). The mutant accumulated around threefold higher Na + and twofold higher K + and Rb + compared with Col-0.…”

“…In previous work, an Arabidopsis fast neutron-induced mutant (136:31) was identified based on differences in elemental composition in leaves as determined by inductively coupled plasmamass spectrometry (ICP-MS) analysis (Lahner et al, 2003). When first isolated, the mutant showed a complex phenotype with high Li, Mg, K, As, and low Mn compared with the wild type ).…”

“…The mutant line 136:31 (Lahner et al, 2003) (Bonke et al, 2003) was obtained from Ykä Helariutta (University of Helsinki, Finland). The JYB1234 marker line was described previously (Benitez-Alfonso et al, 2009).…”

“…The HMA domain is found in all organisms, in proteins that transfer/bind heavy metals, including small metallochaperones, heavy metal transporters, and enzymes that use heavy metals as cofactors. The conserved sequence L(M)XCXXC is Plant growth conditions and ICP-MS analysis were as described by Lahner et al (2003). Rosette leaves were sampled after 5 to 6 weeks of growth.…”

“…Student's t test was performed, and the different letters indicate significant difference with P < 0.05. Plant growth, sample collection, and ICP-MS analysis were according to Lahner et al (2003). cDNA library analysis of mRNA transcripts isolated from purified companion cell protoplasts, nuclei, or isolated phloem tissue (Brady et al, 2007;Deeken et al, 2008;Zhang et al, 2008).…”