Abstract
• Low-K⁺ remodels root hierarchy • Low-K⁺ activates antioxidant-phytohormone responses and carbon metabolic reprogramming • Physiological-transcriptomic reveal ROS-hormone-K⁺ transporter network interplay in low-K⁺ • 0.1 μM NAA rescues low-K⁺ stress by synergizing root remodeling and K⁺ uptake efficiency Potassium (K) deficiency poses a significant threat to global wheat production, yet comprehensive investigations integrating physiological and transcriptomic responses to K-deficiency stress in wheat remain critically underexplored. This study investigated the physiological, biochemical, and transcriptomic adaptations of wheat under low-K conditions (0.01 mM K⁺) compared with a sufficient-K control (6 mM K⁺). Low-K stress severely inhibited plant growth, reducing shoot and root biomass by 37%-60% and 42%-64%, respectively, and impairing root morphology through decreases in root length, surface area, and tip number. Photosynthetic performance was also compromised, with significant reductions in chlorophyll content (6%-31%), stomatal conductance (37%-56%), and photosynthetic rate (17%-39%). Antioxidant defense systems were activated under K deficiency, as evidenced by elevated malondialdehyde (MDA) levels and increased activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX), alongside upregulated glutathione (GSH) and ascorbate (AsA) biosynthesis. Transcriptomic analysis identified 14,566 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) enriched in pathways including phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, plant hormone signaling, and glutathione metabolism. Key K⁺ transporters (HAK, HKT, AKT1) and calcium signaling components (CBLs, CIPKs) were strongly induced, suggesting central roles in K⁺ acquisition and stress adaptation. In addition, K deficiency promoted the accumulation of phytohormones (IAA, ABA, CTK, BR), which correlated with transcriptional activation of auxin- and ABA-responsive genes. Concurrently, exogenous application of auxin at specific concentrations mediates low-K⁺ stress alleviation through enhanced potassium uptake efficiency and root architectural remodeling. These findings reveal integrated physiological and molecular strategies that enable wheat to mitigate K deficiency, highlighting potential targets for breeding K-efficient cultivars to enhance sustainable wheat production.
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Claims 18
Claim · model-written summary
Low-K stress reduced wheat shoot biomass by 37%-60% relative to the sufficient-K control.
- Taxon
- wheat
Triticum aestivume1 - Treatment
- Low-K stresse3
- Outcome
- shoote3
- Direction
- reducinge3
- Value
- 37%-60%e3
- Comparator
- sufficient-K controle2
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“adaptations of wheat under low-K conditions”
e2“compared with a sufficient-K control”
e3“Low-K stress severely inhibited plant growth, reducing shoot and root biomass by 37%-60% and 42%-64%, respectively”
Claim · model-written summary
Low-K stress reduced wheat root biomass by 42%-64% relative to the sufficient-K control.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume1
- Treatment
- Low-K stresse3
- Outcome
- root biomasse3
- Direction
- reducinge3
- Value
- 42%-64%e3
- Comparator
- sufficient-K controle2
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“adaptations of wheat under low-K conditions”
e2“compared with a sufficient-K control”
e3“Low-K stress severely inhibited plant growth, reducing shoot and root biomass by 37%-60% and 42%-64%, respectively”
Claim · model-written summary
Low-K stress significantly reduced wheat chlorophyll content by 6%-31%.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume1
- Treatment
- Low-K stresse3
- Outcome
- chlorophyll contente4
- Direction
- reductionse4
- Value
- 6%-31%e4
- Comparator
- sufficient-K controle2
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“adaptations of wheat under low-K conditions”
e2“compared with a sufficient-K control”
e3“Low-K stress severely inhibited plant growth”
e4“significant reductions in chlorophyll content (6%-31%), stomatal conductance (37%-56%), and photosynthetic rate (17%-39%)”
Claim · model-written summary
Low-K stress significantly reduced wheat stomatal conductance by 37%-56%.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume1
- Treatment
- Low-K stresse3
- Outcome
- stomatal conductancee4
- Direction
- reductionse4
- Value
- 37%-56%e4
- Comparator
- sufficient-K controle2
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“adaptations of wheat under low-K conditions”
e2“compared with a sufficient-K control”
e3“Low-K stress severely inhibited plant growth”
e4“significant reductions in chlorophyll content (6%-31%), stomatal conductance (37%-56%), and photosynthetic rate (17%-39%)”
Claim · model-written summary
Low-K stress significantly reduced wheat photosynthetic rate by 17%-39%.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume1
- Treatment
- Low-K stresse3
- Outcome
- photosynthetic ratee4
- Direction
- reductionse4
- Value
- 17%-39%e4
- Comparator
- sufficient-K controle2
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“adaptations of wheat under low-K conditions”
e2“compared with a sufficient-K control”
e3“Low-K stress severely inhibited plant growth”
e4“significant reductions in chlorophyll content (6%-31%), stomatal conductance (37%-56%), and photosynthetic rate (17%-39%)”
Claim · model-written summary
K deficiency elevated malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in wheat.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume1
- Treatment
- K deficiencye5
- Outcome
- malondialdehyde (MDA) levelse5
- Direction
- elevatede5
- Comparator
- sufficient-K controle2
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“adaptations of wheat under low-K conditions”
e2“compared with a sufficient-K control”
e5“Antioxidant defense systems were activated under K deficiency, as evidenced by elevated malondialdehyde (MDA) levels”
Claim · model-written summary
K deficiency increased the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) in wheat.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume1
- Treatment
- K deficiencye5
- Outcome
- activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX)e6
- Direction
- increasede6
- Comparator
- sufficient-K controle2
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“adaptations of wheat under low-K conditions”
e2“compared with a sufficient-K control”
e5“Antioxidant defense systems were activated under K deficiency”
e6“increased activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX)”
Claim · model-written summary
K deficiency upregulated glutathione (GSH) and ascorbate (AsA) biosynthesis in wheat.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume1
- Treatment
- K deficiencye5
- Outcome
- glutathione (GSH) and ascorbate (AsA) biosynthesise7
- Direction
- upregulatede7
- Comparator
- sufficient-K controle2
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“adaptations of wheat under low-K conditions”
e2“compared with a sufficient-K control”
e5“Antioxidant defense systems were activated under K deficiency”
e7“upregulated glutathione (GSH) and ascorbate (AsA) biosynthesis”
Claim · model-written summary
Transcriptome analysis of wheat under low potassium identified 14,566 differentially expressed genes.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume1
- Outcome
- differentially expressed genes (DEGs)e3
- Value
- 14,566e3
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“adaptations of wheat under low-K conditions”
e3“Transcriptomic analysis identified 14,566 differentially expressed genes (DEGs)”
Claim · model-written summary
Differentially expressed genes in wheat were enriched in phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, plant hormone signaling and glutathione metabolism.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume1
- Outcome
- enriched in pathwayse2
- Qualifier
- phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, plant hormone signaling, and glutathione metabolisme2
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“adaptations of wheat under low-K conditions”
e2“differentially expressed genes (DEGs) enriched in pathways including phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, plant hormone signaling, and glutathione metabolism”
Claim · model-written summary
Low-K stress strongly induced the wheat K⁺ transporters HAK, HKT and AKT1.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume1
- Treatment
- K deficiencye5
- Gene
- HAK, HKT, AKT1e6
- Outcome
- K⁺ transporterse6
- Direction
- strongly inducede6
- Comparator
- sufficient-K controle2
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“adaptations of wheat under low-K conditions”
e2“compared with a sufficient-K control”
e5“Antioxidant defense systems were activated under K deficiency”
e6“Key K⁺ transporters (HAK, HKT, AKT1) and calcium signaling components (CBLs, CIPKs) were strongly induced”
Claim · model-written summary
Low-K stress strongly induced the wheat calcium signaling components CBLs and CIPKs.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume1
- Treatment
- K deficiencye5
- Gene
- CBLs, CIPKse6
- Outcome
- calcium signaling componentse6
- Direction
- strongly inducede6
- Comparator
- sufficient-K controle2
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“adaptations of wheat under low-K conditions”
e2“compared with a sufficient-K control”
e5“Antioxidant defense systems were activated under K deficiency”
e6“Key K⁺ transporters (HAK, HKT, AKT1) and calcium signaling components (CBLs, CIPKs) were strongly induced”
Claim · model-written summary
K deficiency promoted the accumulation of IAA, ABA and CTK in wheat.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume1
- Treatment
- K deficiencye3
- Compound
- IAA, ABA, CTKe3
- Outcome
- accumulation of phytohormonese3
- Direction
- promotede3
- Comparator
- sufficient-K controle2
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“adaptations of wheat under low-K conditions”
e2“compared with a sufficient-K control”
e3“K deficiency promoted the accumulation of phytohormones (IAA, ABA, CTK, BR)”
Claim · model-written summary
K deficiency promoted the accumulation of brassinosteroids (BR) in wheat.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume1
- Treatment
- K deficiencye3
- Compound
- BRe3
- Outcome
- accumulation of phytohormonese3
- Direction
- promotede3
- Comparator
- sufficient-K controle2
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“adaptations of wheat under low-K conditions”
e2“compared with a sufficient-K control”
e3“K deficiency promoted the accumulation of phytohormones (IAA, ABA, CTK, BR)”
Claim · model-written summary
Transcriptional activation of auxin- and ABA-responsive genes in wheat correlated with low-K phytohormone changes.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume1
- Gene
- auxin- and ABA-responsive genese2
- Outcome
- transcriptional activatione2
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“adaptations of wheat under low-K conditions”
e2“which correlated with transcriptional activation of auxin- and ABA-responsive genes”
Claim · model-written summary
Exogenous auxin at specific concentrations enhanced potassium uptake efficiency and root architectural remodeling under low K in wheat.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume1
- Treatment
- exogenous application of auxin at specific concentrationse2
- Compound
- auxine2
- Outcome
- potassium uptake efficiency and root architectural remodelinge2
- Direction
- enhancede2
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“adaptations of wheat under low-K conditions”
e2“exogenous application of auxin at specific concentrations mediates low-K⁺ stress alleviation through enhanced potassium uptake efficiency and root architectural remodeling”
Claim · model-written summary
0.1 μM NAA rescues low-K stress in wheat by synergizing root remodeling and K⁺ uptake efficiency.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume1
- Treatment
- 0.1 μM NAAe2
- Compound
- NAAe2
- Outcome
- root remodeling and K⁺ uptake efficiencye2
- Direction
- rescuese2
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“adaptations of wheat under low-K conditions”
e2“0.1 μM NAA rescues low-K⁺ stress by synergizing root remodeling and K⁺ uptake efficiency”
Claim · model-written summary
Low-K stress decreased wheat root length, surface area and tip number.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume1
- Treatment
- Low-K stresse3
- Outcome
- root length, surface area, and tip numbere4
- Direction
- decreasese4
- Comparator
- sufficient-K controle2
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“adaptations of wheat under low-K conditions”
e2“compared with a sufficient-K control”
e3“Low-K stress severely inhibited plant growth”
e4“impairing root morphology through decreases in root length, surface area, and tip number”
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