Rice cDNA and genomic libraries were screened in order to clone an Fe(II) transporter gene. A cDNA clone highly homologous to the Arabidopsis Fe(II) transporter gene IRT1 was isolated from Fe-deficient rice roots. The cDNA clone was named OsIRT1. A genomic clone corresponding to the cDNA was also obtained, sequenced and analysed. When expressed in yeast cells, OsIRT1 cDNA reversed the growth defects of the yeast iron-uptake mutant. Northern blot analysis revealed that OsIRT1 mRNA was predominantly expressed in roots and was induced by Fe- and Cu-deficiency. This suggests that OsIRT1 is a functional metal transporter for iron, and is actively engaged in Fe uptake from soils, especially under limiting conditions.

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[11C]Methionine was supplied through barley roots and the 11C signal was followed for 90 min using a real-time imaging system (PETIS), with subsequent development of autoradiographic images of the whole plant. In all cases, [11C]methionine was first translocated to the 'discrimination center', the basal part of the shoot, and this part was most strongly labeled. Methionine absorbed by the roots of the plants was subsequently translocated to other parts of the plant. In Fe-deficient barley plants, a drastic reduction in [11C]methionine translocation from the roots to the shoot was observed, while a greater amount of 11C was found in the leaves of Fe-sufficient or methionine-pretreated Fe-deficient plants. Treatment of Fe-deficient plants with aminooxyacetic acid, an inhibitor of nicotianamine aminotransferase, increased the translocation of [11C]methionine to the shoot. The retention of exogenously supplied [11C]methionine in the roots of Fe-deficient barley indicates that the methionine is used in the biosynthesis of mugineic acid phytosiderophores in barley roots. This and the absence of methionine movement from shoots to the roots suggest that the mugineic acid precursor methionine originates in the roots of plants.

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