Plants tolerant of high boron levels.
Reduced crop productivity due to soils containing toxic levels of boron (B) is a worldwide problem in food production. It is estimated that up to 17% of the barley yield losses in southern Australia are caused by B toxicity. We found that the expression of AtBOR4, an Arabidopsis paralog of BOR1, the first identified boron transporter gene, generates plants that are tolerant of high B levels. BOR4 is a polarly localized borate exporter that enhances B efflux from roots. The present study is a foundation for the improvement of crop productivity in soils containing excess B, which are distributed in arid areas of the world.
Biotechnology Research Center, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan.
Kyoko
K
Miwa
Junpei
J
Takano
Hiroyuki
H
Omori
Motoaki
M
Seki
Kazuo
K
Shinozaki
Toru
T
Fujiwara
D017920:Antiporters / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D001888:Boric Acids / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000633:toxicity; D001895:Boron / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity*; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism; D017343:Genes, Plant; D019441:Plant Epidermis / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000378:metabolism; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D012987:Soil / Q000032:analysis
D017920:Antiporters; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; C469216:BOR1 protein, Arabidopsis; C524889:BOR4 protein, Arabidopsis; D001888:Boric Acids; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D012987:Soil; D001895:Boron; C032688:boric acid