EN
Phosphorus (P) is an essential mineral nutrient required for the plant growth and development. Insufficient P supply triggers extensive physiological and biochemical changes in plants. In this study, we used Affymetrix GeneChip rice genome arrays to analyze the dynamics of rice transcriptome under P starvation. Phosphorus starvation induced or suppressed transcription of 2,317 genes, representing 7.2% of the genes. These changes, mostly transient, affected various cellular metabolic pathways including stress response, primary and secondary metabolism, molecular transport, regulatory process and organismal development. Hundred and thirty (5.6% of 2,317 genes) transcripts were expressed similarly both in root and shoot under P starvation. Comparative analysis between rice and Arabidopsis identified 37 orthologous groups that responded to P starvation demonstrating the existence of conserved P stress coupling mechanism among dicot and monocot plants. Additional analysis of transcription profiles of microRNAs revealed differential expression of miR399 and miR169 under P starvation suggesting their potential roles in plant nutrient homeostasis. Analysis of genome-wide gene expression profiles in P starvation in rice shoot and root, using Affymetrix Rice Genome Chip in this paper, has provided an overview of transcriptional responses to the P starvation condition. This will bring very valuable information and will make a great contribution for investigating the response of rice to P starvation.