E3 ligase BRUTUS (BTS), a putative iron sensor, is expressed in both root and shoot tissues in seedlings of
Arabidopsis thaliana.
The role of BTS in root tissues has been well established. However, its role in shoot tissues has been scarcely studied. Comparative transcriptome analysis with shoot and root tissues revealed that
BTS
is involved in regulating energy metabolism by modulating expression of mitochondrial and chloroplast genes in shoot tissues. Moreover, in shoot tissues of
bts-1
plants, levels of ADP and ATP and the ratio of ADP/ATP were greatly increased with a concomitant decrease in levels of soluble sugar and starch. The decreased starch level in
bts-1
shoot tissues was restored to the level of shoot tissues of wild-type plants upon vanadate treatment. Through this study, we expand the role of
BTS
to regulation of energy metabolism in the shoot in addition to its role of iron deficiency response in roots.
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