Aluminum inhibits root growth and uptake of water and nutrients.
Liming the plow layer does not remedy subsoil acidity and liming may not be practical in all locations. An alternative approach is to develop crop varieties with improved genetic resistance to Al. The roots of some acid soil tolerant crop varieties secrete organic acids that chelate Al and prevent uptake of Al by the root apex. We identified transgenic lines with higher MDH and PEPC enzyme activity, enzyme-protein and mRNA transcript levels. Plants overexpressing neMDH showed considerably higher overall organic acid synthesis and exudation.