Molecular mechanisms to reduce boron nutrient requirement in plants

为了提高贫瘠土壤中粮食和植物生物量的生产力，一个有效的解决办法是发展肥料投入少、产量高的植物。硼是植物生长必需元素之一，本研究旨在寻找降低硼需要量的新基因。从拟南芥中分离出多系突变体，在茎部硼浓度降低的情况下，这些突变体表现出较好的生长。通过遗传分析，发现了细胞壁多糖（硼结合位点）合成基因的突变。本研究展示了一种新的策略，以确定有助于减少植物生长对可持续植物生产的养分需求的遗传资源。

To increase the productivity of food and plant biomass in infertile soils, one effective solution is to develop plants which have high yields with little fertilizer input. The present research aimed to identify novel genes to reduce the requirement of boron, one of essential elements for plant growth. Multiple lines of Arabidopsis thaliana mutants were isolated, which exhibited better growth even though the boron concentrations in shoot tissues were decreased. Through genetic analysis, mutations were found in the genes for synthesis of cell wall polysaccharides, a boron binding site. This study demonstrates a novel strategy to identify genetic resources useful for reduction of nutrient requirement of plant growth for sustainable plant production.