Wheat TaVIT2D restores phenotype and mediates iron homeostasis during growth of Arabidopsis thaliana in iron-deficient conditions (original) (raw)

2018, Indian Journal of Plant Physiology

Iron (Fe) uptake is a highly regulated process in plants. In cereals, like wheat and rice, dietary Fe concentration in seeds is very low because it is primarily localized as iron-phytate in vacuoles in aleurone layer. Fe transport into vacuoles and vacuolar sequestration are mediated by Vacuolar Iron Transporter (VIT) genes. In wheat seed, TaVIT2D was expressed at higher level in aleurone (removed as bran during milling) as compared to endosperm (makes dietary flour). The constitutive expression of VIT2D of wheat in the vit1 mutant of Arabidopsis thaliana increased Fe accumulation in the root, leaf, and seed during growth in low Fe medium. Expression of genes related to metal uptake and intercellular transport were induced in the complementation lines. The interaction between the vacuolar Fe sequestration and its long-distance transport may be important to address iron biofortification of cereal grains.