Wheat Ammonium Transporter (AMT) Gene Family: Diversity and Possible Role in Host-Pathogen Interaction with Stem Rust.

Ammonium transporter (AMT) proteins have been reported in many plants, but no comprehensive analysis was performed in wheat. In this study, we identified 23 AMT members (hereafter TaAMTs) using a protein homology search in wheat genome. Tissue-specific expression analysis showed that , and were relatively more highly expressed in comparison with other . TaAMT1;1a, TaAMT1;1b, and TaAMT1;3a-GFP were localized in the plasma membrane in tobacco leaves, and , and successfully complemented a yeast 31019b strain in which ammonium uptake was deficient. In addition, the expression of in an quadruple mutant () successfully restored [Formula: see text] uptake ability. Resupply of [Formula: see text] rapidly increased cellular [Formula: see text] contents and suppressed expression of , but not of and expressions. Expression of , and was not changed in leaves after [Formula: see text] resupply. In contrast, nitrogen (N) deprivation induced , and gene expressions in the roots and leaves. Expression analysis in the leaves of the stem rust-susceptible wheat line "Little Club" and the rust-tolerant strain "Mini 2761" revealed that , and were specifically induced in the former but not in the latter. Rust-susceptible wheat plants grown under N-free conditions exhibited a lower disease index than plants grown with [Formula: see text] as the sole N source in the medium after infection with f. sp. , suggesting that [Formula: see text] and its transport may facilitate the infection of wheat stem rust disease. Our findings may be important for understanding the potential function in wheat plants.