Arabidopsis thaliana NIP7;1 is involved in tissue arsenic distribution and tolerance in response to arsenate

The Arabidopsis aquaglyceroporin NIP7;1 is involved in uptake and tolerance to the trivalent arsenic species arsenite. Here, we show that NIP7;1 is also involved in the response to pentavalent arsenate. Loss of function of NIP7;1 improved tolerance to arsenate and reduced arsenic levels in both the phloem and xylem, resulting in altered arsenic distribution between tissues. There was no clear correlation between growth and shoot arsenic concentration. This is the first report detailing the involvement of a NIP transporter in response to arsenate. The data suggest that these proteins are relevant targets for breeding and engineering arsenic tolerance in crops.