Molecular regulators of phosphate homeostasis in plants

An appropriate cellular phosphate (Pi) concentration is indispensable for essential physiological and biochemical processes. To maintain cellular Pi homeostasis, plants have developed a series of adaptive responses to facilitate external Pi acquisition and to limit Pi consumption and to adjust Pi recycling internally when the Pi supply is inadequate. Over the past decade, significant progress has been made toward understanding such regulation at the molecular level. In this review, the focus is on the molecular regulators that mediate cellular Pi concentrations. The regulators are introduced and organized according to their original identification procedures, by the forward genetic approach of mutant screening or by reverse genetic analysis. These genes are involved in Pi uptake, allocation or remobilization or are upstream regulators, such as transcriptional factors or signalling molecules. In the future, integration of current knowledge and exploration of new technology is expected to offer new insights into molecular mechanisms that maintain Pi homeostasis.