Transcriptional regulation of the Arabidopsis transportome by salt stress and symbiosis with Serendipita indica

Serendipita indica, a widely studied beneficial root-colonizing fungal endophyte, promotes plant growth under saline conditions by reducing Na⁺ accumulation in host plants, including Arabidopsis thaliana. This reduction in Na ⁺ levels likely contributes to salt detoxification, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Previous studies have demonstrated that SOS1, a key Na⁺ transporter and major determinant of salt tolerance in plants, is not involved in this reduction. To explore whether other plant transporters might participate in Na⁺ reduction, we first characterized the full Arabidopsis transportome, with putative substrates and subcellular localizations, and performed a comprehensive transcriptomic analysis of the full set of transporter proteins. In this study, we investigated and excluded the possible contribution of HKT1, another relevant Na⁺ transporter implicated in salt adaptation in Arabidopsis. By examining differentially expressed transporters under salt stress, we identified a subset of candidate genes potentially involved in Na⁺ transport. Among these, we evaluated the role of CNGC10 and CNGC13 using mutant lines under both S. indica- and non-colonized conditions. Interestingly, both transporters appeared to be involved in the endophyte-induced decrease in Na⁺ accumulation although, other, yet-unidentified transporters may also contribute to this phenomenon.