title: Enhanced phosphorus uptake in transgenic tobacco plants that overproduce citrate.
abstract: Phosphorus (P) is one of the most important nutrients limiting agricultural production worldwide. In acid and alkaline soils, which make up over 70% of the world's arable land, P forms insoluble compounds that are not available for plant use. To reduce P deficiencies and ensure plant productivity, nearly 30 million tons of P fertilizer are applied every year. Up to 80% of the applied P fertilizer is lost because it becomes immobile and unavailable for plant uptake. Therefore, the development of novel plant varieties more efficient in the use of P represents the best alternative to reduce the use of P fertilizers and achieve a more sustainable agriculture. We show here that the ability to use insoluble P compounds can be significantly enhanced by engineering plants to produce more organic acids. Our results show that when compared to the controls, citrate-overproducing plants yield more leaf and fruit biomass when grown under P-limiting conditions and require less P fertilizer to achieve optimal growth.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ingeniería Genética de Plantas, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del IPN, Unidad Irapuato, Apartado postal 629, 36500 Irapuato, Guanajuato, Mexico.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: López-Bucio
authors.forename: O M
authors.initials: OM
authors.lastname: de La Vega
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Guevara-García
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Herrera-Estrella
mesh_terms: D001692:Biological Transport; D017796:Caulimovirus / Q000235:genetics; D002950:Citrate (si)-Synthase / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D002951:Citrates / Q000378:metabolism*; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D010710:Phosphates / Q000378:metabolism*; D010758:Phosphorus / Q000378:metabolism*; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified / Q000378:metabolism*; D010947:Plants, Toxic; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D012231:Rhizobium; D012987:Soil; D014026:Nicotiana / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D002951:Citrates; D010710:Phosphates; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D012987:Soil; D010758:Phosphorus; D002950:Citrate (si)-Synthase