Nitric oxide negatively regulates AKT1-mediated potassium uptake through modulating vitamin B6 homeostasis in Arabidopsis

Nitric oxide (NO), an active signaling molecule in plants, is involved in numerous physiological processes and adaptive responses to environmental stresses. Under high-salt conditions, plants accumulate NO quickly, and reorganize Na ⁺ and K ⁺ contents. However, the molecular connection between NO and ion homeostasis is largely unknown. Here, we report that NO lowers K ⁺ channel AKT1-mediated plant K ⁺ uptake by modulating vitamin B6 biosynthesis. In a screen for Arabidopsis NO-hypersensitive mutants, we isolated sno1 ( sensitive to nitric oxide 1 ), which is allelic to the previously noted mutant sos4 ( salt overly sensitive 4 ) that has impaired Na ⁺ and K ⁺ contents and overproduces pyridoxal 5′-phosphate (PLP), an active form of vitamin B6. We showed that NO increased PLP and decreased K ⁺ levels in plant. NO induced SNO1 gene expression and enzyme activity, indicating that NO-triggered PLP accumulation mainly occurs through SNO1-mediated vitamin B6 salvage biosynthetic pathway. Furthermore, we demonstrated that PLP significantly repressed the activity of K ⁺ channel AKT1 in the Xenopus oocyte system and Arabidopsis root protoplasts. Together, our results suggest that NO decreases K ⁺ absorption by promoting the synthesis of vitamin B6 PLP, which further represses the activity of K ⁺ channel AKT1 in Arabidopsis . These findings reveal a previously unidentified pivotal role of NO in modulating the homeostasis of vitamin B6 and potassium nutrition in plants, and shed light on the mechanism of NO in plant acclimation to environmental changes. Significance Nitric oxide (NO) plays key roles in coordinating plant growth and development with environmental cues. Potassium (K ⁺) is an essential plant nutrient important for growth and stress tolerance. However, little is known about the molecular connection of NO to K ⁺ homeostasis. Through a genetic approach, this study provides a detailed regulatory mechanism of NO to K ⁺ channel AKT1-mediated K ⁺ absorption, through its modulation on vitamin B6 biosynthesis in plants. This finding demonstrates a previously unidentified role of NO in the control of K ⁺ content in plants, which may represent a normal plant adaptive response under unfavorable external conditions.