Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
5.4
4.5
Journals
Plants
Special Issues
Water and Ion Transport in Plants: New and Older Trends...
share announcement

Water and Ion Transport in Plants: New and Older Trends Meet Together

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Cell Biology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2021) | Viewed by 16528

Printed Edition Available!
A printed edition of this Special Issue is available here.

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Vadim Volkov

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
Interests: water and ion transport; membrane transport; halophytes; electrophysiology; biophysics; visual perception
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Lars H. Wegner

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
International Research Center for Environmental Membrane Biology, Foshan University, 18 Jiang-wanyi-lu, Chancheng, Foshan, Guangdong, China
Interests: plant water relations; plant nutrition; ion transport; electrophysiology; biophysics; systems biology
Dr. Mary Beilby

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Physics, Biophysics, The University of New South Wales, Kensington, NSW 2052, Australia
Interests: biophysics; electrophysiology (plant cells); ion transporters; salt tolerance and sensitivity; action potential (plants); circadian rhythms; data-logging and experimental computer control; teaching techniques
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The transport of water and ions underlies all organized fluxes in plants, fluxes that secure homeostasis and provide the matrix for biochemical reactions, orchestrated cellular events, and development. At the cellular level, water and ions pass via cell membranes using a set of aquaporins as well as specific ion channels and transporters; transport follows thermodynamic and electrochemical gradients. At the whole-plant level, specialized tissues such as xylem and phloem have evolved to transport ions and water from roots to shoots and metabolites in the reverse direction. At the level of the ecosystem and for agricultural productivity, supply and transport of water and ions form the basis for crop yield. All the processes for this exceptionally wide topic cannot be covered within a single Special Issue, so our aim is to recall the main concepts established for water and ion transport, to introduce new ideas, including controversial ones, and to link these ides to generate directions of potential research and progress.

Dr. Vadim Volkov
Prof. Lars H. Wegner
Dr. Mary Beilby
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Plants is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • water transport
  • ion transport
  • water and ion fluxes in plants
  • ion channels
  • ion transporters
  • aquaporins

Published Papers (5 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

17 pages, 3165 KiB  
Article
Molecular Cloning and Characterization of SaCLCd, SaCLCf, and SaCLCg, Novel Proteins of the Chloride Channel Family (CLC) from the Halophyte Suaeda altissima (L.) Pall
by Olga I. Nedelyaeva, Larissa G. Popova, Vadim S. Volkov and Yurii V. Balnokin
Plants 2022, 11(3), 409; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11030409 - 02 Feb 2022
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2088
Abstract
Coding sequences of the CLC family genes SaCLCd, SaCLCf, and SaCLCg, the putative orthologs of Arabidopsis thaliana AtCLCd, AtCLCf, and AtCLCg genes, were cloned from the euhalophyte Suaeda altissima (L.) Pall. The key conserved motifs and glutamates inherent [...] Read more.
Coding sequences of the CLC family genes SaCLCd, SaCLCf, and SaCLCg, the putative orthologs of Arabidopsis thaliana AtCLCd, AtCLCf, and AtCLCg genes, were cloned from the euhalophyte Suaeda altissima (L.) Pall. The key conserved motifs and glutamates inherent in proteins of the CLC family were identified in SaCLCd, SaCLCf, and SaCLCg amino acid sequences. SaCLCd and SaCLCg were characterized by higher homology to eukaryotic (human) CLCs, while SaCLCf was closer to prokaryotic CLCs. Ion specificities of the SaCLC proteins were studied in complementation assays by heterologous expression of the SaCLC genes in the Saccharomyces cerevisiae GEF1 disrupted strain Δgef1. GEF1 encoded the only CLC family protein, the Cl− transporter Gef1p, in undisrupted strains of this organism. Expression of SaCLCd in Δgef1 cells restored their ability to grow on selective media. The complementation test and the presence of both the “gating” and “proton” conservative glutamates in SaCLCd amino acid sequence and serine specific for Cl− in its selectivity filter suggest that this protein operates as a Cl−/H+ antiporter. By contrast, expression of SaCLCf and SaCLCg did not complement the growth defect phenotype of Δgef1 cells. The selectivity filters of SaCLCf and SaCLCg also contained serine. However, SaCLCf included only the “gating” glutamate, while SaCLCg contained the “proton” glutamate, suggesting that SaCLCf and SaCLCg proteins act as Cl− channels. The SaCLCd, SaCLCf, and SaCLCg genes were shown to be expressed in the roots and leaves of S. altissima. In response to addition of NaCl to the growth medium, the relative transcript abundances of all three genes of S. altissima increased in the leaves but did not change significantly in the roots. The increase in expression of SaCLCd, SaCLCf, and SaCLCg in the leaves in response to increasing salinity was in line with Cl− accumulation in the leaf cells, indicating the possible participation of SaCLCd, SaCLCf, and SaCLCg proteins in Cl− sequestration in cell organelles. Generally, these results suggest the involvement of SaCLC proteins in the response of S. altissima plants to increasing salinity and possible participation in mechanisms underlying salt tolerance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water and Ion Transport in Plants: New and Older Trends Meet Together)
►▼ Show Figures

Graphical abstract

18 pages, 3126 KiB  
Article
Cloning and Characterization of Two Putative P-Type ATPases from the Marine Microalga Dunaliella maritima Similar to Plant H+-ATPases and Their Gene Expression Analysis under Conditions of Hyperosmotic Salt Shock
by Dmitrii A. Matalin, Dmitrii E. Khramov, Alexey V. Shuvalov, Vadim S. Volkov, Yurii V. Balnokin and Larissa G. Popova
Plants 2021, 10(12), 2667; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10122667 - 03 Dec 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2538
Abstract
The green microalga genus Dunaliella is mostly comprised of species that exhibit a wide range of salinity tolerance, including inhabitants of hyperhaline reservoirs. Na+ content in Dunaliella cells inhabiting saline environments is maintained at a fairly low level, comparable to that in [...] Read more.
The green microalga genus Dunaliella is mostly comprised of species that exhibit a wide range of salinity tolerance, including inhabitants of hyperhaline reservoirs. Na+ content in Dunaliella cells inhabiting saline environments is maintained at a fairly low level, comparable to that in the cells of freshwater organisms. However, despite a long history of studying the physiological and molecular mechanisms that ensure the ability of halotolerant Dunaliella species to survive at high concentrations of NaCl, the question of how Dunaliella cells remove excess Na+ ions entering from the environment is still debatable. For thermodynamic reasons it should be a primary active mechanism; for example, via a Na+-transporting ATPase, but the molecular identification of Na+-transporting mechanism in Dunaliella has not yet been carried out. Formerly, in the euryhaline alga D. maritima, we functionally identified Na+-transporting P-type ATPase in experiments with plasma membrane (PM) vesicles which were isolated from this alga. Here we describe the cloning of two putative P-type ATPases from D. maritima, DmHA1 and DmHA2. Phylogenetic analysis showed that both ATPases belong to the clade of proton P-type ATPases, but the similarity between DmHA1 and DmHA2 is not high. The expression of DmHA1 and DmHA2 in D. maritima cells under hyperosmotic salt shock was studied by qRT-PCR. Expression of DmHA1 gene decreases and remains at a relatively low level during the response of D. maritima cells to hyperosmotic salt shock. In contrast, expression of DmHA2 increases under hyperosmotic salt shock. This indicates that DmHA2 is important for overcoming hyperosmotic salt stress by the algal cells and as an ATPase it is likely directly involved in transport of Na+ ions. We assume that it is the DmHA2 ATPase that represents the Na+-transporting ATPase. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water and Ion Transport in Plants: New and Older Trends Meet Together)
►▼ Show Figures

Graphical abstract

11 pages, 1968 KiB  
Article
The Effect of Silicon on Osmotic and Drought Stress Tolerance in Wheat Landraces
by Sarah J. Thorne, Susan E. Hartley and Frans J. M. Maathuis
Plants 2021, 10(4), 814; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10040814 - 20 Apr 2021
Cited by 23 | Viewed by 3055
Abstract
Drought stress reduces annual global wheat yields by 20%. Silicon (Si) fertilisation has been proposed to improve plant drought stress tolerance. However, it is currently unknown if and how Si affects different wheat landraces, especially with respect to their innate Si accumulation properties. [...] Read more.
Drought stress reduces annual global wheat yields by 20%. Silicon (Si) fertilisation has been proposed to improve plant drought stress tolerance. However, it is currently unknown if and how Si affects different wheat landraces, especially with respect to their innate Si accumulation properties. In this study, significant and consistent differences in Si accumulation between landraces were identified, allowing for the classification of high Si accumulators and low Si accumulators. Landraces from the two accumulation groups were then used to investigate the effect of Si during osmotic and drought stress. Si was found to improve growth marginally in high Si accumulators during osmotic stress. However, no significant effect of Si on growth during drought stress was found. It was further found that osmotic stress decreased Si accumulation for all landraces whereas drought increased it. Overall, these results suggest that the beneficial effect of Si commonly reported in similar studies is not universal and that the application of Si fertiliser as a solution to agricultural drought stress requires detailed understanding of genotype-specific responses to Si. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water and Ion Transport in Plants: New and Older Trends Meet Together)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

13 pages, 2916 KiB  
Article
Auxin Homeostasis and Distribution of the Auxin Efflux Carrier PIN2 Require Vacuolar NHX-Type Cation/H+ Antiporter Activity
by Shiqi Zhang, Hiromi Tajima, Eiji Nambara, Eduardo Blumwald and Elias Bassil
Plants 2020, 9(10), 1311; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants9101311 - 03 Oct 2020
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2914
Abstract
The Arabidopsis vacuolar Na+/H+ transporters (NHXs) are important regulators of intracellular pH, Na+ and K+ homeostasis and necessary for normal plant growth, development, and stress acclimation. Arabidopsis contains four vacuolar NHX isoforms known as AtNHX1 to AtNHX4. The [...] Read more.
The Arabidopsis vacuolar Na+/H+ transporters (NHXs) are important regulators of intracellular pH, Na+ and K+ homeostasis and necessary for normal plant growth, development, and stress acclimation. Arabidopsis contains four vacuolar NHX isoforms known as AtNHX1 to AtNHX4. The quadruple knockout nhx1nhx2nhx3nhx4, lacking any vacuolar NHX-type antiporter activity, displayed auxin-related phenotypes including loss of apical dominance, reduced root growth, impaired gravitropism and less sensitivity to exogenous IAA and NAA, but not to 2,4-D. In nhx1nhx2nhx3nhx4, the abundance of the auxin efflux carrier PIN2, but not PIN1, was drastically reduced at the plasma membrane and was concomitant with an increase in PIN2 labeled intracellular vesicles. Intracellular trafficking to the vacuole was also delayed in the mutant. Measurements of free IAA content and imaging of the auxin sensor DII-Venus, suggest that auxin accumulates in root tips of nhx1nhx2nhx3nhx4. Collectively, our results indicate that vacuolar NHX dependent cation/H+ antiport activity is needed for proper auxin homeostasis, likely by affecting intracellular trafficking and distribution of the PIN2 efflux carrier. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water and Ion Transport in Plants: New and Older Trends Meet Together)
►▼ Show Figures

Graphical abstract

Review

Jump to: Research

32 pages, 2695 KiB  
Review
A Quest for Mechanisms of Plant Root Exudation Brings New Results and Models, 300 Years after Hales
by Vadim Volkov and Heiner Schwenke
Plants 2021, 10(1), 38; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10010038 - 25 Dec 2020
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3592
Abstract
The review summarizes some of our current knowledge on the phenomenon of exudation from the cut surface of detached roots with emphasis on results that were mostly established over the last fifty years. The phenomenon is quantitatively documented in the 18th century (by [...] Read more.
The review summarizes some of our current knowledge on the phenomenon of exudation from the cut surface of detached roots with emphasis on results that were mostly established over the last fifty years. The phenomenon is quantitatively documented in the 18th century (by Hales in 1727). By the 19th century, theories mainly ascribed exudation to the secretion of living root cells. The 20th century favored the osmometer model of root exudation. Nevertheless, growing insights into the mechanisms of water transport and new or rediscovered observations stimulated the quest for a more adequate exudation model. The historical overview shows how understanding of exudation changed with time following experimental opportunities and novel ideas from different areas of knowledge. Later theories included cytoskeleton-dependent micro-pulsations of turgor in root cells to explain the observed water exudation. Recent progress in experimental biomedicine led to detailed study of channels and transporters for ion transport via cellular membranes and to the discovery of aquaporins. These universal molecular entities have been incorporated to the more complex models of water transport via plant roots. A new set of ideas and explanations was based on cellular osmoregulation by mechanosensitive ion channels. Thermodynamic calculations predicted the possibility of water transport against osmotic forces based on co-transport of water with ions via cation-chloride cotransporters. Recent observations of rhizodermis exudation, exudation of roots without an external aqueous medium, segments cut from roots, pulses of exudation, a phase shifting of water uptake and exudation, and of effects of physiologically active compounds (like ion channel blockers, metabolic agents, and cytoskeletal agents) will likely refine our understanding of the phenomenon. So far, it seems that more than one mechanism is responsible for root pressure and root exudation, processes which are important for refilling of embolized xylem vessels. However, recent advances in ion and water transport research at the molecular level suggest potential future directions to understanding of root exudation and new models awaiting experimental testing. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water and Ion Transport in Plants: New and Older Trends Meet Together)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-5
Back to TopTop