Globular structures in roots accumulate phosphorus to extremely high concentrations following phosphorus addition

Crops with improved uptake of fertilizer phosphorus (P) would reduce P losses and confer environmental benefits. We examined how P-sufficient 6-week-old soil-grown Trifolium subterraneum plants, and 2-week-old seedlings in solution culture, accumulated P in roots after inorganic P (Pi) addition. In contrast to our expectation that vacuoles would accumulate excess P, after 7 days, X-ray microanalysis showed that vacuolar [P] remained low (<12 mmol kg^-1 ). However, in the plants after P addition, some cortex cells contained globular structures extraordinarily rich in P (often >3,000 mmol kg^-1 ), potassium, magnesium, and sodium. Similar structures were evident in seedlings, both before and after P addition, with their [P] increasing threefold after P addition. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy showed seedling roots accumulated Pi following P addition, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed large plastids. For seedlings, we demonstrated that roots differentially expressed genes after P addition using RNAseq mapped to the T. subterraneum reference genome assembly and transcriptome profiles. Among the most up-regulated genes after 4 hr was TSub_g9430.t1, which is similar to plastid envelope Pi transporters (PHT4;1, PHT4;4): expression of vacuolar Pi-transporter homologs did not change. We suggest that subcellular P accumulation in globular structures, which may include plastids, aids cytosolic Pi homeostasis under high-P availability.

Complex Forms of Soil Organic Phosphorus-A Major Component of Soil Phosphorus

Phosphorus (P) is an essential element for life, an innate constituent of soil organic matter, and a major anthropogenic input to terrestrial ecosystems. The supply of P to living organisms is strongly dependent on the dynamics of soil organic P. However, fluxes of P through soil organic matter remain unclear because only a minority (typically <30%) of soil organic P has been identified as recognizable biomolecules of low molecular weight (e.g., inositol hexakisphosphates). Here, we use (31)P nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to determine the speciation of organic P in soil extracts fractionated into two molecular weight ranges. Speciation of organic P in the high molecular weight fraction (>10 kDa) was markedly different to that of the low molecular weight fraction (<10 kDa). The former was dominated by a broad peak, which is consistent with P bound by phosphomonoester linkages of supra-/macro-molecular structures, whereas the latter contained all of the sharp peaks that were present in unfractionated extracts, along with some broad signal. Overall, phosphomonoesters in supra-/macro-molecular structures were found to account for the majority (61% to 73%) of soil organic P across the five diverse soils. These soil phosphomonoesters will need to be integrated within current models of the inorganic-organic P cycle of soil-plant terrestrial ecosystems.

Quantitative analysis of ³¹P NMR spectra of soil extracts--dealing with overlap of broad and sharp signals

Solution (31)P NMR analysis following extraction with a mixture of sodium hydroxide and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid is the most widely used method for detailed characterization of soil organic P. However, quantitative analysis of the (31)P NMR spectra is complicated by severe spectral overlap in the monoester region. Various deconvolution procedures have been developed for the task, yet none of these are widely accepted or implemented. In this mini-review, we first describe and compare these varying approaches. We then review approaches to similar issues of spectral overlap in biomedical science applications including NMR-based metabolic profiling and analyzing (31)P magnetic resonance spectra of ex vivo and in vivo intact tissues. The greater maturity and resourcing of this biomedical research means that a wider variety of approaches has been developed. Of particular relevance are approaches to dealing with overlap of broad and sharp signals. Although the existence of this problem is still debated in the context of soil analyses, not only is it well-recognized in biomedical applications, but multiple approaches have been developed to deal with it, including T2 editing and time-domain fitting. Perhaps the most transferable concept is the incorporation of 'prior knowledge' in the fitting of spectra. This is well established in biomedical applications but barely touched in soil analyses. We argue that shortcuts to dealing with overlap in the monoester region (31)P NMR soil spectra are likely to be found in the biomedical literature, although some degree of adaptation will be necessary.