First published online December 10, 2004; 10.1104/pp.104.047357
Plant Physiology 137:231-241 (2005)
© 2005 American Society of Plant Biologists
PLANT NUTRITION
Aluminum Resistance in Maize Cannot Be Solely Explained by Root Organic Acid Exudation. A Comparative Physiological Study1,[w]
Miguel A. Piñeros,
Jon E. Shaff,
Holly S. Manslank,
Vera M. Carvalho Alves and
Leon V. Kochian*
United States Plant, Soil and Nutrition Laboratory, United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853 (M.A.P., J.E.S., H.S.M., L.V.K.); and Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária Maize and Sorghum Research Center, 35701–970 Sete Lagoas, Brazil (V.M.C.A.)
Root apical aluminum (Al) exclusion via Al-activated root citrate exudation is widely accepted as the main Al-resistance mechanism operating in maize (Zea mays) roots. Nonetheless, the correlation between Al resistance and this Al-exclusion mechanism has not been tested beyond a very small number of Al-resistant and Al-sensitive maize lines. In this study, we conducted a comparative study of the physiology of Al resistance using six different maize genotypes that capture the range of maize Al resistance and differ significantly in their genetic background (three Brazilian and three North American genotypes). In these maize lines, we were able to establish a clear correlation between root tip Al exclusion (based on root Al content) and Al resistance. Both Al-resistant genotypes and three of the four Al-sensitive lines exhibited a significant Al-activated citrate exudation, with no evidence for Al activation of root malate or phosphate release. There was a lack of correlation between differential Al resistance and root citrate exudation for the six maize genotypes; in fact, one of the Al-sensitive lines, Mo17, had the largest Al-activated citrate exudation of all of the maize lines. Our results indicate that although root organic acid release may play a role in maize Al resistance, it is clearly not the only or the main resistance mechanism operating in these maize roots. A number of other potential Al-resistance mechanisms were investigated, including release of other Al-chelating ligands, Al-induced alkalinization of rhizosphere pH, changes in internal levels of Al-chelating compounds in the root, and Al translocation to the shoot. However, we were unsuccessful in identifying additional Al-resistance mechanisms in maize. It is likely that a purely physiological approach may not be sufficient to identify these novel Al-resistance mechanisms in maize and this will require an interdisciplinary approach integrating genetic, molecular, and physiological investigations.
1 This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Research Initiative (grant no. 00–35100–9280 to M.A.P. and L.V.K.; grant no. 2001–35301–10647 to L.V.K.).
[w] The online version of this article contains Web-only data.
Article, publication date, and citation information can be found at www.plantphysiol.org/cgi/doi/10.1104/pp.104.047357.
* Corresponding author; lvk1{at}cornell.edu; fax 607–255–2459.
Received May 28, 2004;
returned for revision July 15, 2004;
accepted July 18, 2004.
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