The transcription factor OsWRKY10 inhibits phosphate uptake via suppressing OsPHT1;2 expression under phosphate-replete conditions in rice

Plants have evolved delicate systems for stimulating or inhibiting inorganic phosphate (Pi) uptake in response to the fluctuating Pi availability in soil. However, the negative regulators inhibiting Pi uptake at the transcriptional level are largely unexplored. Here, we functionally characterized a transcription factor in rice (Oryza sativa), OsWRKY10. OsWRKY10 encodes a nucleus-localized protein and showed preferential tissue localization. Knockout of OsWRKY10 led to increased Pi uptake and accumulation under Pi-replete conditions. In accordance with this phenotype, OsWRKY10 was transcriptionally induced by Pi, and a subset of PHOSPHATE TRANSPORTER 1 (PHT1) genes were up-regulated upon its mutation, suggesting that OsWRKY10 is a transcriptional repressor of Pi uptake. Moreover, rice plants expressing the OsWRKY10–VP16 fusion protein (a dominant transcriptional activator) accumulated even more Pi than oswrky10. Several lines of biochemical evidence demonstrated that OsWRKY10 directly suppressed OsPHT1;2 expression. Genetic analysis showed that OsPHT1;2 was responsible for the increased Pi accumulation in oswrky10. Furthermore, during Pi starvation, OsWRKY10 protein was degraded through the 26S proteasome. Altogether, the OsWRKY10–OsPHT1;2 module represents a crucial loop in the Pi signaling network in rice, inhibiting Pi uptake when there is ample Pi in the environment.