Research progress on phosphate transporter Pht1 family in rice

Phosphorus (P) is an essential element for plants, it plays important roles in substance composition, signal transduction, yield and quality formation. Soils are often low in the availability of P, phosphorus fertilizer application is a common way to supplement the P nutrition in agricultural production. After enter soil, inorganic P is easily fixed through a serious physical, chemical and biological reactions, decreasing its availability. Exploring the P absorption and utilization efficiency of plant is of great significance for ensuring the P nutrition of plant. The transportation of root absorbed P within plant relies on phosphorus transporters (Pht), understanding the function of phosphorus transporters can provide theoretical tools for regulating P balance in vivo, and developing P efficient cultivars. Many researches have been conducted on rice phosphorus transporters Pht1 family. There are 13 members in rice Pht1 family, their structure and classification, origin and homology analysis, biomolecular information and biological function were reviewed, especially those of OsPT3, OsPT4 and OsPT8 in rice Pht1 family. After long-term evolution, Pht1 family genes have evolved specific functions in the process of P absorption. The relationship among the family genes is complicated and diverse, including complementation, cooperation, as well as partial overlap (redundancy) in function. Except the P absorption and transportation, the rice Pht1 family members were also found having similar role on other elements such as As, Se and Si, and a certain of positive function on disease resistance of plants. Further studies are needed to exploring the mechanism of the beneficial functions and the relationship with P absorption and transport in plants. Deep research on the molecular mechanism of Pht1 family members in plant physiological signal network is conducive to the cultivation of high-quality rice varieties with high disease resistance and high phosphorus utilization.