Isolation and Characterization of Rice Mutants Defective in Si Uptake and Sensitive to Al

摘要

Plants require 17 elements for their growth and development, 14 of which are minerals. When a mineral is taken up by the roots from soil, it is translocated from the roots to the shoots and then distributed within the plant. Many genes are believed to be involved in this process. On the other hand, plants also have to overcome excessive levels of toxic minerals, such as Cd and Al, in problem soils. Therefore, tolerant genes to these stresses must exist. However, only a few genes to date have been identified as being involved in these processes. Excitingly, most genes remain to be cloned in the near future. To clone and analyze these genes, one approach is to use mutants as a forward genetic approach. Herein, two examples are given to show how to isolate mutants and functional genes related to plant nutrition.