Abstract
Key message
RTH may activate Fe assimilation related genes to promote Fe absorption, transport and accumulation in Arabidopsis.
Abstract
Iron (Fe) is an important nutrient element. The Fe absorption and transport in plants are well investigated over the past decade. Our previous work indicated that RTE1-HOMOLOG (RTH), the homologous gene of reversion-to-ethylene sensitivity 1 (RTE1), plays a role in ethylene signaling pathway. However, its function in Fe absorption and transport is largely unknown. In the present study, we found that RTH was expressed in absorptive tissue and conducting tissue, including root hairs, root vascular bundle, and leaf veins. Under high Fe concentration, the seedling growth of rth-1 mutant was better, while the RTH overexpression lines were retarded compared to the wild type (Col-0). When treated with EDTA-Fe3+ (400 μM), the chlorophyll content and ion leakage rate were higher and lower in rth-1 than those of Col-0, respectively. By contrast, the chlorophyll contents and ion leakage rates of RTH overexpression lines were decreased and hastened compared with Col-0, respectively. Fe measurement indicated that the Fe contents of rth-1 were lower than those of Col-0, whereas those of RTH overexpression lines were comparably higher. Gene expression analysis revealed that Fe absorption and transport genes AHA2, IRT1, FIT, FPN1, and YSL1 decreased in rth-1 but increased in RTH overexpression lines compared with Col-0. Additionally, Y2H (yeast two-hybrid) and BiFC (bimolecular fluorescence complementation) assays showed that RTH can physically interact with hemoglobin 1 (HB1) and HB2. All these findings suggest that RTH may play an important role in regulation of Fe absorption, transport, and accumulation in Arabidopsis.
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All relevant datasets in the present study are available from the corresponding author via reasonable request.
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Funding
This study was financially supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (grant No. ZR2021MC020), the Key R&D Program of Shandong Province, China (Major Science and Technology Innovation Project) (grant No. 2022CXGC010401-02), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC, grant No. 32170319).
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YY and CHD designed the research and analyzed all the data. YY and CL wrote the article. YQ performed qRT-PCR, Y2H, BiFC, and GUS staining assays, and measured chlorophyll content, ion leakage, and Fe content. CL and CP performed qRT-PCR and analyzed the data. YH and YY prepared plant materials. HY analyzed the data of ion leakage and Fe content. All authors read and approved the manuscript.
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Qi, Y., Lu, C., Pang, C. et al. The Arabidopsis RTH plays an important role in regulation of iron (Fe) absorption and transport. Plant Cell Rep 43, 133 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-024-03214-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-024-03214-x