Zinc translocation from Zn-sufficient to Zn-deficient roots as an adaptation to heterogeneous Zn availability.

ABSTRACT: Zinc is essential for plant development and human health. While the effects of soil nutrient heterogeneity on plant growth were studied for macronutrients, adaptive mechanisms for micronutrients like Zn remain largely unexplored. We investigate Zn homeostasis in Nicotiana tabacum plants grown in a transparent soil medium mimicking natural soil conditions with spatially heterogeneous Zn availability. Our findings suggest a previously unrecognized mechanism in which Zn is translocated between lateral roots, moving from Zn-sufficient to Zn-deficient ones, mitigating Zn deficiency responses and reducing Zn uptake. Under heterogeneous Zn conditions, the expression of key Zn homeostasis-related genes (encoding Zn importer - NtZIP4B, Zn exporter - NtHMA4a/b and Zn chelator - NtNAS) was significan

SUBMITTER: Pypka M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12506409 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature