Scientists Identify Gene that Allow Plants to Survive Iron Starvation

Researchers from Dartmouth College in the U.S. have identified a gene required for both efficient photosynthesis and for iron metabolism, processes necessary for producing a healthy plant and a nutritious food source. Mary Lou Guerinot and her colleagues provided molecular evidence that FRO7, a gene in the ferric reductase oxidase (FRO) family, is involved in chloroplast iron acquisition and is required for efficient photosynthesis. Iron serves as a cofactor in the photosynthetic electron transport chain and is essential for chlorophyll biosynthesis.

The scientists explains that one-third of the soil worldwide is iron deficient, so it is important to understand how plants acquire the metal, how they allocate it to different parts of the plant and within the cell, and how they survive under iron-limiting conditions. An understanding of iron transport and homeostasis in the chloroplast is critical not only to improve plant growth and crop yields but also to improve human nutrition.

The article published by PNAS is available at http://www.pnas.org/content/105/30/10619.full Read http://www.dartmouth.edu/~news/releases/2008/07/21.html for more information.