OsPSTOL1 is prevalent in upland rice and its expression in wheat enhances root growth and hastens low phosphate signaling

PHOSPHORUS-STARVATION TOLERANCE 1 (OsPSTOL1) benefits crown root growth and phosphorus (P) sufficiency in rice (Oryza sativa L.). To better understand the importance of this variably present gene, we carried out a biogeographic survey of landraces and cultivars, confirming that functional OsPSTOL1 alleles prevail in low nutrient and drought-prone rainfed ecosystems, whereas loss-of-function alleles and absence haplotypes predominate in control-irrigated paddy varieties of east Asia. To address the evolutionary history of OsPSTOL1 and related genes in cereal crops, phylogenetic and transcript meta-analyses were performed. Finally, to evaluate its potential value in another Gramineae, wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) lines overexpressing OsPSTOL1 were evaluated under field and controlled low P conditions. OsPSTOL1 enhances growth, crown root number, and overall root plasticity under low P in wheat. Survey of root and shoot crown transcriptomes at two developmental stages identifies transcription factors that are differentially regulated in OsPSTOL1 wheat that are similarly controlled by the gene in rice. In wheat, OsPSTOL1 alters the timing and amplitude of regulators of root development in dry soils and hastens induction of the core P-starvation response. Based on these findings, OsPSTOL1 and related genes may aid more sustainable cultivation of cereal crops.