Nicotianamine Functions in the Phloem-Based Transport of Iron to Sink Organs, in Pollen Development and Pollen Tube Growth in Arabidopsis

The metal chelator nicotianamine promotes the bioavailability of Fe and reduces cellular Fe toxicity. For breeding Fe-efficient crops, we need to explore the fundamental impact of nicotianamine on plant development and physiology. The quadruple nas4x-2 mutant of Arabidopsis thaliana cannot synthesiz...

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Published inThe Plant cell Vol. 24; no. 6; pp. 2380 - 2400
Main Authors Schuler, Mara, Rellán-Álvarez, Rubén, Fink-Straube, Claudia, Abadia, Javier, Bauer, Petra
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England American Society of Plant Biologists 01.06.2012
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Summary:The metal chelator nicotianamine promotes the bioavailability of Fe and reduces cellular Fe toxicity. For breeding Fe-efficient crops, we need to explore the fundamental impact of nicotianamine on plant development and physiology. The quadruple nas4x-2 mutant of Arabidopsis thaliana cannot synthesize any nicotianamine, shows strong leaf chlorosis, and is sterile. To date, these phenotypes have not been fully explained. Here, we show that sink organs of this mutant were Fe deficient, while aged leaves were Fe sufficient. Upper organs were also Zn deficient. We demonstrate that transport of Fe to aged leaves relied on citrate, which partially complemented the loss of nicotianamine. In the absence of nicotianamine, Fe accumulated in the phloem. Our results show that rather than enabling the long-distance movement of Fe in the phloem (as is the case for Zn), nicotianamine facilitates the transport of Fe from the phloem to sink organs. We delimit nicotianamine function in plant reproductive biology and demonstrate that nicotianamine acts in pollen development in anthers and pollen tube passage in the carpels. Since Fe and Zn both enhance pollen germination, a lack of either metal may contribute to the reproductive defect. Our study sheds light on the physiological functions of nicotianamine.
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The author responsible for distribution of materials integral to the findings presented in this article in accordance with the policy described in the Instructions for Authors (www.plantcell.org) is: Petra Bauer (p.bauer@mx.uni-saarland.de).
www.plantcell.org/cgi/doi/10.1105/tpc.112.099077
ISSN:1040-4651
1532-298X
DOI:10.1105/tpc.112.099077