Phostin (PSN) induces phosphate starvation responses. (a) Effect of PSN on the expression of various phosphate (Pi)‐starvation reporter genes. (b) Relative expression of ACP5 and PLDζ2. Five days after germination wild‐type Arabidopsis seedlings were transferred on the indicated media for 4 d before total RNA extraction for quantitative real‐time reverse transcription‐PCR analysis. (c) Effect of PSN on anthocyanin accumulation. (d) Effect of PSN on starch accumulation. (e) Effect of PSN on phosphatase activity. (f) Primary root length of Arabidopsis seedlings grown in +Pi media. Seedlings were grown (a) 8 d, (c–e) 12 d or (f) 7 d in the indicated conditions. Growth conditions: +Pi; +Pi dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO): (a, b) 0.25% DMSO or (d–f) 0.1% DMSO; +Pi PSN: (a, b) 25 μM, (d, e) 10 μM or (f) 2.5–100 μM and −Pi. For all quantitative experiments, averages ± SE were calculated from three independent experiments, except (b) (one experiment with two biological replicates). (b, e) *, Significantly different from +Pi DMSO treatment value (bilateral t‐test for sample of equal variance, P < 0.05).