Molecular response and evolution of plant anion transport systems to abiotic stress

Abstract

We propose that anion channels are essential players for green plants to respond and adapt to the abiotic stresses associated changing climate via reviewing the literature and analyzing the molecular evolution, comparative genetic analysis, and bioinformatics analysis of the key anion channel gene families. Climate change-induced abiotic stresses including heatwave, elevated CO₂, drought, and flooding, had a major impact on plant growth in the last few decades. This scenario could lead to the exposure of plants to various stresses. Anion channels are confirmed as the key factors in plant stress responses, which exist in the green lineage plants. Numerous studies on anion channels have shed light on their protein structure, ion selectivity and permeability, gating characteristics, and regulatory mechanisms, but a great quantity of questions remain poorly understand. Here, we review function of plant anion channels in cell signaling to improve plant response to environmental stresses, focusing on climate change related abiotic stresses. We investigate the molecular response and evolution of plant slow anion channel, aluminum-activated malate transporter, chloride channel, voltage-dependent anion channel, and mechanosensitive-like anion channel in green plant. Furthermore, comparative genetic and bioinformatic analysis reveal the conservation of these anion channel gene families. We also discuss the tissue and stress specific expression, molecular regulation, and signaling transduction of those anion channels. We propose that anion channels are essential players for green plants to adapt in a diverse environment, calling for more fundamental and practical studies on those anion channels towards sustainable food production and ecosystem health in the future.

Keywords: Comparative genomics; Gene family evolution; Ion channel; Membrane transport; Stomata.