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Originally published in Science Express on 2 November 2006
Science 24 November 2006:
Vol. 314. no. 5803, pp. 1295 - 1298
DOI: 10.1126/science.1132563
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Reports

Localization of Iron in Arabidopsis Seed Requires the Vacuolar Membrane Transporter VIT1

Sun A. Kim,1* Tracy Punshon,1* Antonio Lanzirotti,2 Liangtao Li,3 José M. Alonso,4 Joseph R. Ecker,5 Jerry Kaplan,3 Mary Lou Guerinot1{dagger}

Iron deficiency is a major human nutritional problem wherever plant-based diets are common. Using synchrotron x-ray fluorescence microtomography to directly visualize iron in Arabidopsis seeds, we show that iron is localized primarily to the provascular strands of the embryo. This localization is completely abolished when the vacuolar iron uptake transporter VIT1 is disrupted. Vacuolar iron storage is also critical for seedling development because vit1-1 seedlings grow poorly when iron is limiting. We have uncovered a fundamental aspect of seed biology that will ultimately aid the development of nutrient-rich seed, benefiting both human health and agricultural productivity.

1 Department of Biological Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755, USA.
2 Consortium for Advanced Radiation Sources, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
3 Department of Pathology, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT 84132, USA.
4 Department of Genetics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA.
5 Plant Biology and Genomic Analysis Laboratories, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.

* These authors contributed equally to this work.

{dagger} To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: guerinot{at}dartmouth.edu

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