Secretive expression of Aspergillus fumigatus phytase in tobacco improves phosphorus nutrition in plant

To generate transgenic plants capable of utilizing exogenous phytate,an Aspersgillus fumigatus phytase gene(fphyA) was constitutively expressed in tobacco and recombinant enzyme was secreted from plant roots into the rhizosphere using the signal sequence from tobacco calretieulin.After 40 days of plant growth in hydroponic media,phytase activities in leaves,stems,roots and growth media of transgenic plants were 8.6-fold,7.4-fold,12.6-fold and 14.3-fold higher than those of wild-type plants.Signifi-cant improvements in plant growth and phosphoms(P)utilization were observed in the transgenic plants.When phytate was supplied as the sole P source.45-day-old transgenic tobaccos accumulated 1.0-fold and 0.5-fold more shoot and root biomass than wild-type tobaccos.with a concomitant of 1.7-fold increase in total P concentration.These results indicate that secretive expression of the A.fumigatus phytase improves acquisition and use of P from phytate in plants.