Complexation of arsenite with phytochelatins reduces arsenite efflux and translocation from roots to shoots in Arabidopsis.
Complexation of arsenite [As(III)] with phytochelatins (PCs) is an important mechanism employed by plants to detoxify As; how this complexation affects As mobility was little known. We used high-resolution inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry and accurate mass electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry coupled to HPLC to identify and quantify As(III)-thiol complexes and free thiol compounds in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) exposed to arsenate [As(V)]. As(V) was efficiently reduced to As(III) in roots. In wild-type roots, 69% of As was complexed as As(III)-PC4, As(III)-PC3, and As(III)-(PC2)2. Both the glutathione (GSH)-deficient mutant cad2-1 and the PC-deficient mutant cad1-3 were approximately 20 times more sensitive to As(V) than the wild type. In cad1-3 roots, only 8% of As was complexed with GSH as As(III)-(GS)3 and no As(III)-PCs were detected, while in cad2-1 roots, As(III)-PCs accounted for only 25% of the total As. The two mutants had a greater As mobility, with a significantly higher accumulation of As(III) in shoots and 4.5 to 12 times higher shoot-to-root As concentration ratio than the wild type. Roots also effluxed a substantial proportion of the As(V) taken up as As(III) to the external medium, and this efflux was larger in the two mutants. Furthermore, when wild-type plants were exposed to l-buthionine sulfoximine or deprived of sulfur, both As(III) efflux and root-to-shoot translocation were enhanced. The results indicate that complexation of As(III) with PCs in Arabidopsis roots decreases its mobility for both efflux to the external medium and for root-to-shoot translocation. Enhancing PC synthesis in roots may be an effective strategy to reduce As translocation to the edible organs of food crops.
Liu
Wen-Ju
WJ
Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Hertfordshire AL5 2JQ, United Kingdom.
Wood
B Alan
BA
Raab
Andrea
A
McGrath
Steve P
SP
Zhao
Fang-Jie
FJ
Feldmann
Jörg
J
D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000378:metabolism*; D018053:Arsenites / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D054811:Phytochelatins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000378:metabolism*; D018520:Plant Shoots / Q000378:metabolism*
D018053:Arsenites; D054811:Phytochelatins; C015001:arsenite