Unraveling the K+ transporter gene family in rice: evolution, subcellular localization, K+ uptake activity, and transcriptional responses to salt stress
- 1College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University
- 2School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, Waite Research Institute, University of Adelaide, SA
Abstract
Rice is a global staple food crop, and its yield is seriously limited by soil salinity. The high-affinity K ⁺ transporter/K ⁺ uptake permease/K ⁺ transporter (HAK/KUP/KT) family of potassium transporters plays a pivotal role in K ⁺ homeostasis and plant salt tolerance. However, their systematic characterization and functional relevance to salt tolerance in rice have not been clarified. Here, we conducted genome-wide identification and structural characterization of the HAK/KUP/KT family, assessed their expression profiles under salt stress, and examined their K ⁺ transport function. In total, 27 OsHAK genes were identified in the rice genome, most of which exhibited salt-responsive expression. Yeast functional complementation assays confirmed that OsHAK11, OsHAK13, OsHAK23, OsHAK24, OsHAK25, and OsHAK26 can mediate K ⁺ absorption. Among them, OsHAK11 and OsHAK25 showed relatively strong K ⁺ uptake ability. Subcellular localization analysis revealed that OsHAK11 and OsHAK25 were located in the plasma membrane. Our research systematically analyzed the sequence characteristics of the rice HAK gene family, examined their transcriptional responses to salt stress, and further evaluated the K ⁺ uptake capacity of HAK proteins. These results provide a foundation for further elucidating the function of OsHAKs in plant salt tolerance.
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BibTeX
@article{yu2026unraveling,
title = {{Unraveling the K+ transporter gene family in rice: evolution, subcellular localization, K+ uptake activity, and transcriptional responses to salt stress}},
author = {Tongyuan Yu and Jiadong Ren and Yue Yuan and Yuan Xue and Jie Liang and Zheyu Xu and Kejia Zhu and Mengying Jiang and Yunxia Fang and Xiaoqin Zhang and Yijun Meng and Zhonghua Chen and Quanxiang Tian and Dawei Xue},
journal = {Frontiers in Plant Science},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fpls.2026.1980352},
url = {https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2026.1980352/full},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Unraveling the K+ transporter gene family in rice: evolution, subcellular localization, K+ uptake activity, and transcriptional responses to salt stress
AU - Tongyuan Yu
AU - Jiadong Ren
AU - Yue Yuan
AU - Yuan Xue
AU - Jie Liang
AU - Zheyu Xu
AU - Kejia Zhu
AU - Mengying Jiang
AU - Yunxia Fang
AU - Xiaoqin Zhang
AU - Yijun Meng
AU - Zhonghua Chen
AU - Quanxiang Tian
AU - Dawei Xue
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/15
JO - Frontiers in Plant Science
DO - 10.3389/fpls.2026.1980352
UR - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2026.1980352/full
AB - Rice is a global staple food crop, and its yield is seriously limited by soil salinity. The high-affinity K ⁺ transporter/K ⁺ uptake permease/K ⁺ transporter (HAK/KUP/KT) family of potassium transporters plays a pivotal role in K ⁺ homeostasis and plant salt tolerance. However, their systematic characterization and functional relevance to salt tolerance in rice have not been clarified. Here, we conducted genome-wide identification and structural characterization of the HAK/KUP/KT family, assessed their expression profiles under salt stress, and examined their K ⁺ transport function. In total, 27 OsHAK genes were identified in the rice genome, most of which exhibited salt-responsive expression. Yeast functional complementation assays confirmed that OsHAK11, OsHAK13, OsHAK23, OsHAK24, OsHAK25, and OsHAK26 can mediate K ⁺ absorption. Among them, OsHAK11 and OsHAK25 showed relatively strong K ⁺ uptake ability. Subcellular localization analysis revealed that OsHAK11 and OsHAK25 were located in the plasma membrane. Our research systematically analyzed the sequence characteristics of the rice HAK gene family, examined their transcriptional responses to salt stress, and further evaluated the K ⁺ uptake capacity of HAK proteins. These results provide a foundation for further elucidating the function of OsHAKs in plant salt tolerance.
SN - 1664-462X
ER -