Gong Jiming's research group reveals a new mechanism for reutilization of apoplast iron in plant roots

Iron (Fe) is an essential mineral nutrient element for plants and plays an important role in many physiological metabolic processes such as photosynthesis.

On June 23, 2021, Molecular Plant published online a research paper entitled "Galactosylation of Rhamnogalacturonan-II for cell wall pectin biosynthesis is critical for root apoplastic iron reallocation in Arabidopsis" by Gong Jiming's research group from the Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Earlier studies have shown that homozygous mutations in the Cdi gene lead to infertility and death of male gametes.

Interestingly, the expression of Cdi gene is specifically induced by Fe deficiency, and Cdi mutants treated with Fe deficiency are more prone to symptoms of iron deficiency such as leaf chlorosis than the wild type

This study provides direct evidence for the regulation of apoplast Fe redistribution by cell wall biosynthesis, indicating that the effective utilization of the root apoplast Fe pool is actively and tightly regulated by plants, and Cdi-mediated pectin synthesis regulates this biological process.

The research was completed in collaboration with Zhou Yihua's team from the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Plant Nutrition and Adversity Physiology team of Hunan University of Science and Technology

Link to the paper: https:// align="center">

Gong Jiming's research group reveals a new mechanism for reutilization of apoplast iron in plant roots