Nitric oxide and frataxin: two players contributing to maintain cellular iron homeostasis.
BACKGROUND
Nitric oxide (NO) is a signalling and physiologically active molecule in animals, plants and bacteria. The specificity of the molecular mechanism(s) involved in transducing the NO signal within and between cells and tissues is still poorly understood. NO has been shown to be an emerging and potent signal molecule in plant growth, development and stress physiology. The NO donor S-nitrosoglutathion (GSNO) was shown to be a biologically active compound in plants and a candidate for NO storage and/or mobilization between plant tissues and cells. NO has been implicated as a central component in maintaining iron bioavailavility in plants.


CONCLUSIONS
Iron is an essential nutrient for almost all organisms. This review presents an overview of the functions of NO in iron metabolism in animals and discusses how NO production constitutes a key response in plant iron sensing and availability. In plants, NO drives downstream responses to both iron deficiency and iron overload. NO-mediated improvement of iron nutrition in plants growing under iron-deficient conditions represents a powerful tool to cope with soils displaying low iron availability. An interconversion between different redox forms based on the iron and NO status of the plant cells might be the core of a metabolic process driving plant iron homeostasis. Frataxin, a recently identified protein in plants, plays an important role in mitochondria biogenesis and in maintaining mitochondrial iron homeostasis. Evidence regarding the interaction between frataxin, NO and iron from analysis of frataxin knock-down Arabidopsis thaliana mutants is reviewed and discussed.
Ramirez
Leonor
L
Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, CONICET-Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, CC 1245, (7600) Mar del Plata, Argentina.
Zabaleta
Eduardo Julián
EJ
Lamattina
Lorenzo
L
D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D007501:Iron / Q000378:metabolism*; D033862:Iron-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D008954:Models, Biological; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000378:metabolism*; D000096923:Frataxin
D007501:Iron; D033862:Iron-Binding Proteins; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D000096923:Frataxin