Interaction between plant phosphorus nutrition and abiotic stress responses and its potential application in agricultural production

Phosphorus homeostasis is indispensable for the health growth and development of plants and their resistance to environmental stresses. Abiotic stresses, such as drought, salt, low temperature, high temperature and heavy metals, influence the availability of phosphorus in soil, impact the absorption, transport and utilization of phosphate in plants. Increasing the supply of phosphate can reduce the inhibitory effect of abiotic stresses on plant growth under certain conditions and improve the resistance of plants to abiotic stresses. Abiotic stress influences the expression of phosphate responsive genes or proteins at molecular level. Genetic modulation of the expression of genes, such as regulators in the phosphate signaling or phosphate transporters can improve the resistance of plants to abiotic stresses. In this paper, we summarized the effects and the underlying mechanism of drought, salt, temperature and heavy metal stresses on phosphorus homeostasis, as well as the role and the underlying mechanisms of phosphorus homeostasis in raising the abiotic stress resistance of plants. There are still many questions need to be answered in the future. For example, which signal molecules and pathways are involved in the complex interaction between phosphorus nutrition and abiotic stresses in plants; what is the biological significance of the interaction between abiotic stress and phosphorus nutrition in plants, or the meaning of the interaction from ecological and evolutionary aspects; how to utilize or adjust the interaction between abiotic stress and phosphorus nutrition by means of transgenic and gene editing, so as to improve crop resistance to abiotic stress and phosphorus utilization efficiency simultaneously; what is the role of soil microorganisms in the interaction between phosphorus nutrition and abiotic stress. The answers to these questions will help us to understand the molecular mechanism of the interaction between phosphorus signaling and abiotic stress responses, and contribute to their application in agricultural production.