Scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences have generated transgenic plants that overexpress a group of proteins that induce a positive response to iron deficiency in the plant, increasing its levels and maintaining normal fertility. Iron (Fe) deficiency has become one of the factors limiting the quality and productivity of plants worldwide. It has recently been reported that IMA (IRONMAN), a family of small peptides, plays a positive role in the iron deficiency response in the model plant Arabidopsis and rice (Oryza sativa). Two OsIMA genes were identified in rice. However, it remains unclear how OsIMA1 and OsIMA2 activate the iron deficiency response in rice. In a study published in the Journal of Experimental Botany, researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG) showed that IMA upregulates iron homeostasis by interacting with OsHRZs (Haemerythrin Motif-Containing Really Interesting New Gene and Zinc-Finger Proteins), and ...
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