Skip to content
DraconiticResearch
Search Sources API
197,768 studies31 sourcesUpdated 12 min ago
PreprintCC BY-NC-NDbioRxiv

ABF2 and bZIP2 remodel root system architecture under combined phosphate deficiency and salinity in Arabidopsis

  • H. I. Grenett
  • N. R. Johnson
  • M. A. Ibeas
  • T. C. Moyano
  • J. Perez-Diaz
  • R. Acha
  • L. Ahumada-Langer
  • G. Vasquez-Marambio
  • A.-R. Kim
  • V. Berdion Gabarain
  • N. Perrimon
  • J. M. Alvarez1
1 more authors
  • J. M. Estevez
  1. 1Universidad Andres Bello
Read full textPDFDOICite

Abstract

Climate change is degrading arable soils and imposing chronic abiotic stress on plants. As the primary interface with the soil, the root system is especially vulnerable, and plants respond by remodelling their root system architecture (RSA). Most studies have examined single stresses in isolation and so fail to capture the multifactorial environments in which plants actually grow. Rising salinity impairs development by compromising cellular integrity and triggering cytotoxic responses, and it simultaneously restricts uptake of phosphorus, a macronutrient required for nucleic acid and protein synthesis. Combined stresses can amplify these effects, yet how plants adjust RSA to cope with them remains poorly understood. Here we performed a meta-analysis of public transcriptomic datasets for salinity and phosphate deficiency in Arabidopsis thaliana. Integrating these data with protein-protein interaction modelling and DNA-binding (DAP-seq) analyses, we identified two basic leucine zipper transcription factors, ABF2 and bZIP2, as candidate integrators of the combined-stress response. Characterization of abf2, bzip2 and double mutants revealed RSA alterations and allowed us to identify downstream targets of each factor. Our findings offer new insight into root adaptation under combined stress and represent one of the few comprehensive analyses of how multiple abiotic stressors jointly shape root development and plant fitness.

Related

  1. Phosphate Deficiency Attenuates SnRK1 Activity to Modulate the Phosphate Starvation Response in Arabidopsis thaliana
    A. Corbalan-Acedo, A. Villasante-Fernandez, A. Artins +8
    bioRxivPreprintAll rights reservedFull textPlant biologybioRxiv
  2. Defying salinity, drought, and pH extremes: A multifunctional rhizobacterium, Burkholderia gladioli ST3M-39a, matches fertilizer efficacy in wheat via phosphate solubilization
    Sudip Silwal, Asmita Shrestha, Shreejan Pokharel +3
    PLOS OnePeer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Full textCell biologyMicrobiologyPLOS
  3. Hexose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency disrupts hepatic fatty acid homeostasis and induces triglyceride accumulation
    G. Sakalauskaite, S. Ebert, J. A. Allard +6
    bioRxivPreprintAll rights reservedFull textSystems & synthetic biologybioRxiv
  4. Physiological and Biochemical Resilience of Rosemary to Combined Drought and Salinity: A Two-Year Study of Biostimulant-Mediated Stress Mitigation
    Dina Abd Al-Aty Soliman Ahmed, Gamal A. G. Ammar, Tartil M. Emam +2
    Plants (Basel, Switzerland)Peer-reviewedCC BYFull textPlant biologyEurope PMC
  5. FE DEFICIENCY-INDUCED KELCH REPEAT PROTEIN 1 (FDK1) links coumarin metabolism and iron homeostasis during alkaline iron deficiency in Arabidopsis
    H.-J. Mai, C. von der Mark, J. C. Lucas +8
    bioRxivPreprintCC BY-NDFull textPlant biologybioRxiv

Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@misc{grenett2026abf2,
  title = {{ABF2 and bZIP2 remodel root system architecture under combined phosphate deficiency and salinity in Arabidopsis}},
  author = {H. I. Grenett and N. R. Johnson and M. A. Ibeas and T. C. Moyano and J. Perez-Diaz and R. Acha and L. Ahumada-Langer and G. Vasquez-Marambio and A.-R. Kim and V. Berdion Gabarain and N. Perrimon and J. M. Alvarez and J. M. Estevez},
  howpublished = {bioRxiv},
  year = {2026},
  month = aug,
  doi = {10.64898/2026.08.28.747924},
  url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.28.747924v1},
  note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY  - UNPB
TI  - ABF2 and bZIP2 remodel root system architecture under combined phosphate deficiency and salinity in Arabidopsis
AU  - H. I. Grenett
AU  - N. R. Johnson
AU  - M. A. Ibeas
AU  - T. C. Moyano
AU  - J. Perez-Diaz
AU  - R. Acha
AU  - L. Ahumada-Langer
AU  - G. Vasquez-Marambio
AU  - A.-R. Kim
AU  - V. Berdion Gabarain
AU  - N. Perrimon
AU  - J. M. Alvarez
AU  - J. M. Estevez
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/28
PB  - bioRxiv
DO  - 10.64898/2026.08.28.747924
UR  - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.28.747924v1
AB  - Climate change is degrading arable soils and imposing chronic abiotic stress on plants. As the primary interface with the soil, the root system is especially vulnerable, and plants respond by remodelling their root system architecture (RSA). Most studies have examined single stresses in isolation and so fail to capture the multifactorial environments in which plants actually grow. Rising salinity impairs development by compromising cellular integrity and triggering cytotoxic responses, and it simultaneously restricts uptake of phosphorus, a macronutrient required for nucleic acid and protein synthesis. Combined stresses can amplify these effects, yet how plants adjust RSA to cope with them remains poorly understood. Here we performed a meta-analysis of public transcriptomic datasets for salinity and phosphate deficiency in Arabidopsis thaliana. Integrating these data with protein-protein interaction modelling and DNA-binding (DAP-seq) analyses, we identified two basic leucine zipper transcription factors, ABF2 and bZIP2, as candidate integrators of the combined-stress response. Characterization of abf2, bzip2 and double mutants revealed RSA alterations and allowed us to identify downstream targets of each factor. Our findings offer new insight into root adaptation under combined stress and represent one of the few comprehensive analyses of how multiple abiotic stressors jointly shape root development and plant fitness.
ER  -