Identification of novel heavy metal detoxification proteins in Solanum tuberosum: Insights to improve food security protection from metal ion stress

Highlights: • ABC transporter proteins without transmembrane domains may play important roles in heavy metal detoxification. • New mechanisms involved in plant adaptations to environmental changes can result from the loss of some gene functions. • A survey of mutant and functional genes in the StABC family identified targets for future research. • A new approach to identify functionalities of genes was established and validated using microRNA targeting of gene families. With increasingly serious environmental pollution problems, research has focused on identifying functional genes within plants that can help ensure food security and soil governance. In particular, plants seem to have been able to evolve specific functional genes to respond to environmental changes by losing partial gene functions, thereby representing a novel adaptation mechanism. Herein, a new category of functional genes was identified and investigated, providing new directions for understanding heavy metal detoxification mechanisms. Interestingly, this category of proteins appears to exhibit specific complexing functions for heavy metals. Further, a new approach was established to evaluate ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter family functions using microRNA targeted inhibition. Moreover, mutant and functional genes were identified for future research targets. Expression profiling under five heavy metal stress treatments provided an important framework to further study defense responses of plants to metal exposure. In conclusion, the new insights identified here provide a theoretical basis and reference to better understand the mechanisms of heavy metal tolerance in potato plants. Further, these new data provide additional directions and foundations for mining gene resources for heavy metal tolerance genes to improve safe, green crop production and plant treatment of heavy metal soil pollution.