Double Knockouts of Phospholipases Dζ1 and Dζ2 in Arabidopsis Affect Root Elongation during Phosphate-Limited Growth But Do Not Affect Root Hair Patterning

Abstract

Abstract Root elongation and root hair formation are important in nutrient absorption. We found that two Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) phospholipase Ds (PLDs), PLDζ1 and PLDζ2, were involved in root elongation during phosphate limitation. PLDζ1 and PLDζ2 are structurally different from the majority of plant PLDs by having phox and pleckstrin homology domains. Both PLDζs were expressed more in roots than in other tissues. It was reported previously that inducible suppression or inducible overexpression of PLDζ1 affected root hair patterning. However, gene knockouts of PLDζ1, PLDζ2, or the double knockout of PLDζ1 and PLDζ2 showed no effect on root hair formation. The expression of PLDζs increased in response to phosphate limitation. The elongation of primary roots in PLDζ1 and PLDζ2 double knockout mutants was slower than that of wild type and single knockout mutants. The loss of PLDζ2, but not PLDζ1, led to a decreased accumulation of phosphatidic acid in roots under phosphate-limited conditions. These results indicate that PLDζ1 and PLDζ2 play a role in regulating root development in response to nutrient limitation.