Expression in A. thaliana and cellular localization reveal involvement of BjNRAMP1 in cadmium uptake

Ting Li; Yicun Li; Jiaqi Wang; Jiashi Peng; Lili Liu; Lichao Deng; Dawei Zhang; Mingli Yan

doi:10.3389/fpls.2023.1261518

Expression in A. thaliana and cellular localization reveal involvement of BjNRAMP1 in cadmium uptake

Front Plant Sci. 2023 Oct 12:14:1261518. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1261518. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Ting Li¹, Yicun Li¹, Jiaqi Wang¹, Jiashi Peng¹, Lili Liu¹, Lichao Deng², Dawei Zhang^{1

2}, Mingli Yan²

Affiliations

¹ Hunan Key Laboratory of Economic Crops Genetic Improvement and Integrated Utilization, School of Life and Health Science, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Xiangtan, China.
² Hunan Research Center of Heterosis Utilization in Rapeseed, Crop Research Institute, Hunan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changsha, China.

Abstract

Although Brassica juncea has demonstrated potential as a hyperaccumulator crop, it was not entirely clear how cadmium (Cd) accumulates in plants. Here, we found that BjNRAMP1 (Natural Resistance-Associated Macrophage Protein 1) plays a crucial role in the accumulation of Cd and manganese (Mn) through its expression in yeast and Arabidopsis thaliana. The high concentration of Cd exposure could induce the expression of BjNRAMP1. The ectopic expression of BjNRAMP1 in yeast led to higher accumulation of Cd and Mn compared to the vector control. BjNARAMP1 was localized to the plasma membrane and expressed in the vascular system of roots, leaves, and flowers. The overexpression of BjNRAMP1 in A. thaliana resulted in an increased accumulation of Cd in both roots and shoots, which inhibited the normal growth of transgenic lines. Moreover, Mn uptake in roots was activated by the increase in Cd stress. Together, our results indicated that BjNRAMP1 significantly contributes to the uptake of Mn and Cd in B. juncea.

Keywords: Brassica juncea; cadmium; cellular localization; manganese; uptake.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (U19A2029 and 32071965), the Science and Technology Innovation Program of Hunan Province (2023JJ40279), and the Scientific Research Fund of Hunan Provincial Education Department (21B0490).