A Gγ protein regulates alkaline sensitivity in crops

• DOI: 10.1126/science.ade8416
• Publication Date: 2023-03-23T17:58:32Z
• Authors: Huili Zhang; Feifei Yu; Peng Xie; Shengyuan Sun; Xinhua Qiao; Sanyuan Tang; Chengxuan Chen; Sen Yang; Cuo Mei; Dekai Yang; Yaorong Wu; Ran Xia; Xu Li; Jun Lu; Yuxi Liu; Xiaowei Xie; Dongmei Ma; Xing Xu; Zhengwei Liang; Zhonghui Feng; Xiahe Huang; Hong Yu; Guifu Liu; Yingchun Wang; Jiayang Li; Qifa Zhang; Chang Chen; Yidan Ouyang; Qi Xie
• Keywords: 2. Zero hunger; Crops, Agricultural; Salinity; Carbonates; Oryza; Hydrogen Peroxide; Salt Tolerance; 15. Life on land; Alkalies; Aquaporins; Crop Production; Oxidative Stress; Plant Breeding; Soil; Sodium Bicarbonate; Genetic Loci; GTP-Binding Protein gamma Subunits; Sorghum; Plant Proteins

The use of alkaline salt lands for crop production is hindered by a scarcity of knowledge and breeding efforts for plant alkaline tolerance. Through genome association analysis of sorghum, a naturally high-alkaline–tolerant crop, we detected a major locus, Alkaline Tolerance 1 ( AT1 ), specifically related to alkaline-salinity sensitivity. An at1 allele with a carboxyl-terminal truncation increased sensitivity, whereas knockout of AT1 increased tolerance to alkalinity in sorghum, millet, rice, and maize. AT1 encodes an atypical G protein γ subunit that affects the phosphorylation of aquaporins to modulate the distribution of hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) . These processes appear to protect plants against oxidative stress by alkali. Designing knockouts of AT1 homologs or selecting its natural nonfunctional alleles could improve crop productivity in sodic lands.