Enhancement of Cold Tolerance Promotes Resistance to Aluminum Stress
- 1. Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Japan
Abstract
Aluminum (Al) toxicity is one of the major factors that limit crop productivityin acid soils. Soil acidification enhances the release of Al3+, which enters into root tip and prevents root growth. The improvement of Al resistance is important for increasing crop productivity. In this study, we determined that Al levels were decreased during cold acclimation. According to neutron activation analysis, the levels of 24Na, 38Cl, 42K, 49Ca, and 56Mn were temporally decreased, and the levels were restored during cold acclimation. In contrast, 28Al levels were decreased despite acclimation to cold stress. Furthermore, enhancement of cold tolerance by overexpression of ICE1 in Arabidopsis and tomatoes improved Al resistance. These results suggest a relationship between cold tolerance and Al resistance.