AUTHOR=Farhadi Siamak , Sabet Mohammad Sadegh , Malboobi Mohammad Ali , Moieni Ahmad 

TITLE=The Critical Role of AtPAP17 and AtPAP26 Genes in Arabidopsis Phosphate Compensation Network

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2020.565865

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2020.565865

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>Purple acid phosphatases (<italic>PAP</italic>)-encoding genes form a complex network that play a critical role in plant phosphate (Pi) homeostasis. Mostly, the functions of PAPs were investigated individually. However, the interactions of most of these genes in response to various concentrations of available Pi remain unknown. In this study, the roles of <italic>AtPAP17</italic> and <italic>AtPAP26</italic> genes, and their relationship within Pi homeostasis context were investigated. Surprisingly, <italic>atpap17</italic> and <italic>atpap26</italic> mutants not only showed no obvious developmental defects, but also produced higher biomass in compare to wild type (WT) plants under normal growth conditions. Comparing gene expression patterns of these mutants with WT plant, we identified a set of genes up-regulated in mutant plants but not in WT. Based on these unexpected results and up-regulation of <italic>AtPAP17</italic> and <italic>AtPAP26</italic> genes by the loss of function of each other, the hypothesis of compensation relationship between these genes in Pi homeostasis was assessed by generating <italic>atpap17/atpap26</italic> double mutants. Observation of developmental defects in <italic>atpap17/atpap26</italic> mutant but not in single mutants indicated a compensation relationship between <italic>AtPAP17</italic> and <italic>AtPAP26</italic> genes in Pi homeostasis network. Taken together, these results demonstrate the activation of <italic>AtPAP17</italic> and <italic>AtPAP26</italic> genes to buffer against the loss of function of each other, and this compensation relationship is vital for Arabidopsis growth and development.</p>