Regulation of Metal Localization by UMAMIT28 and 29 in Arabidopsis thaliana under Iron Deficiency
AKSOY E. (Yürütücü)
TÜBİTAK Uluslararası İkili İşbirliği Projesi, 2509 - Fransa Dışişleri Bakanlığı ile Bosphorus Programı , 2024 - 2026
- Proje Türü: TÜBİTAK Uluslararası İkili İşbirliği Projesi
- Destek Programı: 2509 - Fransa Dışişleri Bakanlığı ile Bosphorus Programı
- Başlama Tarihi: Mayıs 2024
- Bitiş Tarihi: Mart 2026
Proje Özeti
The lack of iron (Fe), one of the basic micro-nutrients for plants, affects plant growth and yield and restricts agricultural production. Although Fe uptake from the rhizosphere, root-to-shoot translocation, and seed loading have been studied for years, the studies on the transport of chelated Fe are limited especially in dicots. Among different transporters that function in chelated Fe translocation in dicots, peptide, and amino acid transporters are important. Recently discovered UMAMIT amino acid transporter family is particularly responsible for amino acid loading in the seed. Some studies emphasized the importance of amino acids in overcoming Fe deficiency. Although there is evidence in the literature that amino acids may have a role in eliminating iron deficiency, whether the UMAMIT family can transport Fe chelated with amino acids has not been studied yet. In bioinformatics analysis, we determined that the expression level of UMAMIT28, one of the family members, changes under Fe deficiency and is expressed together with the genes associated with Fe transport. Moreover, it is known that UMAMIT28 is localized in the root vasculature and embryo and has roles in the transport of different amino acids. In our preliminary study, the root lengths of umamit28 and umamit29 mutants were affected less than the wild-type under Fe deficiency; the amounts of chlorophyll A and B were affected at the same level as the wild-type. The FRO activity responsible for the uptake of Fe increased similarly in the umamit28 mutant and the wild-type while it was not induced in the umamit29 mutant. These results suggest that UMAMIT28 and 29 may have a role in Fe uptake from the rhizosphere. Therefore, a detailed characterization of these transporters is required to fill the major gap in the literature regarding their possible roles in iron transport. Since the preliminary studies showed that UMAMIT28 and its closet paralog UMAMIT29 are related to Fe uptake, it is essential to determine the phenotypes of umamit28umamit29 double mutants under iron deficiency and show the metal distribution in different organs/tissues in these double mutants. The Turkish Partner has expertise in genetics and characterization of iron deficiency response whereas the French Partner has specific expertise in quantitative mapping of metals distribution in plant tissues by Particle Induced X-ray Emission (µPIXE). µPIXE is only found in some specific laboratories in the world (and not found in Turkey), and the French Partner has access to the instrument, this collaboration is essential to understand the precise functions of UMAMIT28 and UMAMIT29 in the iron distribution in plants. At least 1 publication will be made in SCI/E-SCI journals a with high impact-factor from outcomes of the project, and the findings will be presented at national/international congresses.