Arabidopsis NHX5 and NHX6 regulate PIN6-mediated auxin homeostasis and growth

Abstract NHX5 and NHX6, endosomal Na+,K+/H+ antiporters in Arabidopsis thaliana, play a vital role in growth and development. Our previous study has shown that NHX5 and NHX6 function as H+ leak to regulate auxin-mediated growth in Arabidopsis. In this report, we investigated the function of NHX5 and NHX6 in controlling PIN6-mediated auxin homeostasis and growth in Arabidopsis. Phenotypic analyses found that NHX5 and NHX6 were critical for the function of PIN6, an auxin transporter. We further showed that PIN6 depended on NHX5 and NHX6 in regulating auxin homeostasis. NHX5 and NHX6 were colocalized with PIN6, but they did not interact physically. The conserved acidic residues that are vital for the activity of NHX5 and NHX6 were critical for PIN6 function. Together, NHX5 and NHX6 may regulate PIN6 function by their transport activity.