Biochemical mechanisms underlying iron plaque-mediated phosphorus accumulation and uptake in rice roots

The iron oxyhydroxides of iron plaque on the surface of rice root are crucial for the uptake of nutrition elements, especially phosphorus (P), but the effects of iron oxyhydroxides of iron plaque on the accumulation and uptake of P remain largely unknown. In this study, we investigated the regulatory mechanism of iron plaque on P uptake in rice via hydroponics of whole plant and simulation of iron oxyhydroxides-coated suspension cells in rice. The hydroponic experiment results showed that the presence of iron plaque increased the P content in rice shoots. The simulation experiment results further confirmed that after iron plaque coating, the P contents in the whole cell and on the cell wall were significantly increased from 5.16 mg/g and 2.73 mg/g to 8.85 mg/g and 5.27 mg/g, respectively. In addition, our data also showed that iron plaque coating led to an increase in cell surface potentials from −380 ± 40 mV to −200 ± 30 mV, thus promoting the adsorption of more P. Taken together, this study demonstrated that the iron plaque coating increased the surface potential of the cells, thus enhancing cellular P enrichment, eventually promoting P efficient adsorption in rice. Deciphering these regulatory mechanisms provides an insight into P biogeochemical cycling at the soil-plant interface and offer theoretical basis and practical references for the improvement of P bioavailability in rice production.