Abstract
Molybdenum (Mo) is an essential trace element of plants, but molecular mechanisms of Mo transport have not been understood. We reported identification of the responsible gene (MOT1, stands for Mo transporter 1) that make the difference of Mo contents between two accessions of Arabidopsis thaliana, and subcellular localization of MOT1-GFP fusion protein, at the plasma membrane, previously.
Recent our investigations of MOT1 revealed that the growth of shoots of the mot1 mutant was much poorer than that of wild-type plants under conditions of limited Mo supply. Accumulation of MOT1 transcripts was induced by limited Mo supply. The reduction of Mo concentrations in mot1 was greater in shoots than in roots. MOT1 was mainly expressed in the petioles of the shoot and the pericycle of the roots. MOT1 was capable of transporting molybdate against the concentration gradients. The MOT1 protein represents the first eukaryotic Mo transporter to be identified.
