VOZ1 and VOZ2 transcription factors regulate arsenic tolerance and distribution in rice and Arabidopsis

Ying Wen; Chayanee Chairattanawat; Kieu Thi Xuan Vo; Jiayou Liu; Jie Zhang; Ting Pan; Do-Young Kim; Enrico Martinoia; Chun-Yan Zhong; Mao-Hui Wang; Jong-Seong Jeon; Won-Yong Song

doi:10.3389/fpls.2023.1209860

VOZ1 and VOZ2 transcription factors regulate arsenic tolerance and distribution in rice and Arabidopsis

Front Plant Sci. 2023 Sep 20:14:1209860. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1209860. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Horticulture, Foshan University, Foshan, Guangdong, China.
² Department of Integrative Bioscience and Biotechnology, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang, Republic of Korea.
³ Graduate School of Green-Bio Science and Crop Biotech Institute, Kyung Hee University, Yongin, Republic of Korea.
⁴ Advanced Bio-convergence Center, Pohang Technopark, Pohang, Republic of Korea.
⁵ Institute of Plant Biology, University Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
⁶ Zhaoqing Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Zhaoqing, China.

Abstract

Rice is the major source of arsenic (As) intake in humans, as this staple crop readily accumulates As in the grain. Identifying the genes and molecular mechanisms underlying As accumulation and tolerance is a crucial step toward developing rice with reduced As levels. We identified 25 rice genes that improve As tolerance in yeast cells by expressing a complementary DNA (cDNA) library generated from As-treated rice roots. Among them, a zinc finger-type transcription factor VASCULAR PLANT ONE- ZINC FINGER 1 (OsVOZ1) (OsVOZ1) conferred the most pronounced As tolerance. OsVOZ1 inhibits As accumulation in yeast via activation of As efflux transporter Acr3p by post-transcriptional modification in yeast. The Arabidopsis voz1 voz2 double-knockout mutant exhibited As hypersensitivity, altered As concentrations in various tissues, and reduced As transport activity via the phloem. Arabidopsis and rice VOZs were highly expressed in phloem cells in various tissues, which are critical for As distribution in plant tissues. The double-knockdown and single-knockout plants of OsVOZ1 and OsVOZ2 reduced As accumulation in their seeds. These findings suggest that rice and Arabidopsis VOZs regulate the translocation of As into tissues by regulating the phloem loading of this element.

Keywords: arsenic; arsenic tolerance rice genes; phloem; rice; seed; zinc finger-type transcription factor.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31972488 to W-YS, 41907144 to JZ, and 42107047 to TP), the National Research Foundation (NRF) of Korea (NRF-2016R1A2B4012478 to W-YS, 2021R1A2B5B03001711 to Youngsook Lee, and 2023R1A2C1003142 to J-SJ), and the Rural Development Administration of Korea (PJ016901 to J-SJ).