Arsenic (As) is toxic and ubiquitous in the environment, posing a growing threat to human health. As-hyperaccumulator Pteris vittata has been used for phytoremediation of As-contaminated soil. Symbiosis with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) enhances As accumulation by P. vittata, which is different from As inhibition in typical plants. In this study, P. vittata seedlings inoculated with or without AMF were cultivated in As-contaminated soils for 2 months. AMF-root symbiosis enhanced plant growth, with 64.5% greater As contents in the fronds. After exposure to AsV for 2 h, the arsenate (AsV) and arsenite (AsIII) contents in AMF-roots increased by 1.8- and 3.6-fold, suggesting more efficient As uptake by P. vittata with AMF-roots. Plants take up and transport AsV via phosphate transporters (Phts). Here, for the first time, we identified a novel mycorrhiza-specific Pht transporter, PvPht1;6, from P. vittata. The transcripts of PvPht1;6 were strongly induced in AMF-roots, which were localized to the plasma membrane of arbuscule-containing cells. By complementing a yeast mutant lacking 5-Phts, we confirmed PvPht1;6's transport activity for both P and AsV. In contrast to typical AMF-inducible phosphate transporter LePT4 from tomato, PvPht1;6 showed greater AsV transport capacity. The results suggest that PvPht1;6 is probably critical for AsV transport at the periarbuscular membrane of P. vittata root cells, revealing the underlying mechanism of efficient As accumulation in P. vittata with AMF-roots.
Keywords: 6; AMF symbiosis; arsenate/phosphate transporters; periarbuscular membrane; phosphate transporter PvPht1; phytoremediation.