title: One way. Or another? Iron uptake in plants.
abstract: Iron (Fe) and phosphorus (P), the latter taken up by plants as phosphate (Pi), are two essential nutrients that determine species distribution and often limit crop yield as a result of their low availability in most soils. Pi-deficient plants improve the interception of Pi by increasing the density of root hairs, thereby expanding the volume of soil to be explored. The increase in root-hair frequency results mainly from attenuated primary root growth, a process that was shown to be dependent on the availability of external Fe. Recent data support a hypothesis in which cell elongation during Pi starvation is tuned by depositing Fe in the apoplast of cortical cells in the root elongation zone. Uptake of Fe under Pi starvation appears to proceed via an alternative, as yet unidentified, route that bypasses the default Fe transporter. Fe deposits acquired through this noncanonical Fe-uptake pathway compromises cell-to-cell communication that is critical for proper morphogenesis of epidermal cells and leads to shorter cells and higher root-hair density. An auxiliary Fe-uptake system might not only be crucial for recalibrating cell elongation in Pi-deficient plants but may also have general importance for growth on Pi- or Fe-poor soils by balancing the Pi and Fe supply.
authors.affiliation: Molecular and Biological Agricultural Sciences Program, Taiwan International Graduate Program, Academia Sinica and National Chung Hsing University, Taipei, 11529, Taiwan.|Graduate Institute of Biotechnology, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, 40227, Taiwan.|Institute of Plant and Microbial Biology, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 11529, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Huei-Hsuan
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.affiliation: Molecular and Biological Agricultural Sciences Program, Taiwan International Graduate Program, Academia Sinica and National Chung Hsing University, Taipei, 11529, Taiwan.|Institute of Plant and Microbial Biology, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 11529, Taiwan.|Biotechnology Center, National Chung-Hsing University, Taichung, 40227, Taiwan.|Genome and Systems Biology Degree Program, College of Life Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 10617, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Schmidt
mesh_terms: D002450:Cell Communication; D007501:Iron / Q000378:metabolism*; D010710:Phosphates / Q000378:metabolism; D063245:Plant Development; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D010944:Plants / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D010710:Phosphates; D007501:Iron
keywords: cell morphogenesis; coumarin; iron uptake; phenylpropanoids; phosphate deficiency; root hairs