Iron acquisition strategies in land plants: not so different after all
Journal
New Phytologist
Journal Volume
224
Journal Volume
224
Journal Issue
1
Journal Issue
1
Pages
11-18
Start Page
11
End Page
18
ISSN
0028646X
Date Issued
2019
Author(s)
Schmidt, Wolfgang
Abstract
Due to its ability to accept and donate electrons, iron (Fe) is an indispensable component of electron transport chains and a cofactor in many vital enzymes. Except for waterlogged conditions, under which the lack of oxygen prevents oxidation and precipitation of iron as Fe3+ hydroxides, the availability of iron in soils is generally far below the plant's demand for optimal growth. Plants have evolved two phylogenetically separated and elaborately regulated strategies to mobilize iron from the soil, featuring mechanisms which are thought to be mutually exclusive. However, recent studies uncovered several shared components of the two strategies, questioning the validity of the concept of mutual exclusivity. Here, we use publicly available data obtained from the model species rice (Oryza sativa) to unveil similarities and incongruities between co-expression networks derived from transcriptomic profiling of iron-deficient rice and Arabidopsis plants. This approach revealed striking similarities in the topographies of the resulting co-expression networks with relatively minor deviations in the molecular attributes of the comprised genes, which nonetheless lead to different physiological functions. The analysis also discovered several novel players that are possibly involved in the regulation plant adaptation to iron deficiency.
Subjects
co-expression networks
evolution
gene regulation
iron
iron deficiency
reactive oxygen species
Publisher
Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Type
journal article