Plant plasma membrane and phosphate deprivation

Phosphorus is a major plant macronutrient, but it is also one of the less accessible mineral elements for these organisms due to the very low solubility of phosphate and phosphorus incorporation in organic matter in soils. Plants have developed multiple strategies to enhance phosphorus acquisition, and much of that activity takes place at the plasma membrane. Phosphorus remobilization from membrane lipids, regulation of transporter activity, and rhizosphere acidification are the primary mechanisms associated with the plasma membrane that function under phosphorus deficiency conditions. In this review, we summarize both lipid remodeling and adjustments of transporters in the plasma membrane of plant cells following Pi deprivation, and discuss the control and coordination of these major modifications in the global response of plants to this stress