Minireview: Chromatin-based regulation of iron homeostasis in plants

Abstract

Plants utilize delicate mechanisms to effectively respond to changes in the availability of nutrients such as iron. The responses to iron status involve controlling gene expression at multiple levels. The regulation of iron deficiency response by a network of transcriptional regulators has been extensively studied and recent research has shed light on post-translational control of iron homeostasis. Although not as considerably investigated, an increasing number of studies suggest that histone modification and DNA methylation play critical roles during iron deficiency and contribute to fine-tuning iron homeostasis in plants. This review will focus on the current understanding of chromatin-based regulation on iron homeostasis in plants highlighting recent studies in Arabidopsis and rice. Understanding iron homeostasis in plants is vital, as it is not only relevant to fundamental biological questions, but also to agriculture, biofortification, and human health. A comprehensive overview of the effect and mechanism of chromatin-based regulation in response to iron status will ultimately provide critical insights in elucidating the complexities of iron homeostasis and contribute to improving iron nutrition in plants.

Iron Nutrition in Plants: Towards a New Paradigm?

“…On this basis, it is likely, even if it remains to be demonstrated, that other levels of regulation might also be similar between both types of plants. Among them, one could cite the involvement of alternative splicing [ 91 , 92 ], miRNA- and Lnc-RNA-dependent regulation of gene expression [ 93 , 94 , 95 ], chromatin modifications (i.e., histone methylation/acetylation and DNA methylation; [ 96 ], as well as Fe-dependent mitogen-activated protein kinases (MPKs) signalling cascade [ 97 ] or the phosphorylation-dependent regulation of key proteins, as it is the case for IRT1, AHA2, FIT or URI [ 98 ].…”

Plant Growth Regulation in Cell and Tissue Culture In Vitro

“…It is also important to note that excess iron may cause iron stress, which can effect embryogenesis [58]. As expected, the iron effect directly relates to epigenetic regulation [59]. However, one must consider that iron is one of the elements that easily precipitates in a culture medium.…”