The tomato fer gene encoding a bHLH protein controls iron-uptake responses in roots.

ABSTRACT: Iron deficiency is among the most common nutritional disorders in plants. To cope with low iron supply, plants with the exception of the Gramineae increase the solubility and uptake of iron by inducing physiological and developmental alterations including iron reduction, soil acidification, Fe(II) transport and root-hair proliferation (strategy I). The chlorotic tomato fer mutant fails to activate the strategy I. It was shown previously that the fer gene is required in the root. Here, we show that fer plants exhibit root developmental phenotypes after low and sufficient iron nutrition indicating that FER acts irrespective of iron supply. Mutant fer roots displayed lower Leirt1 expression than wild-type roots. We isolated the fer gene by map-based cloning and demonstrate that it encodes a p

SUBMITTER: Ling HQ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC129801 | biostudies-literature | 2002 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature