Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, Plant Physiology Unit, University of Turin, Via Quarello 15/a, 10135 Turin, Italy.
Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie e Ambientali-Produzione, Territorio, Agroenergia, Università degli Studi di Milano, 20133 Milano, Italy.
Int J Mol Sci. 2021 Sep 21;22(18):10166. doi: 10.3390/ijms221810166.
The geomagnetic field (GMF) is an environmental factor affecting the mineral nutrient uptake of plants and a contributing factor for efficient iron (Fe) uptake in Arabidopsis seedlings. Understanding the mechanisms underlining the impact of the environment on nutrient homeostasis in plants requires disentangling the complex interactions occurring among nutrients. In this study we investigated the effect of GMF on the interplay between iron (Fe) and sulfur (S) by exposing plants grown under single or combined Fe and S deficiency, to near-null magnetic field (NNMF) conditions. Mineral analysis was performed by ICP-MS and capillary electrophoresis, whereas the expression of several genes involved in Fe and S metabolism and transport was assayed by qRT-PCR. The results show that NNMF differentially affects (i) the expression of some Fe- and S-responsive genes and (ii) the concentration of metals in plants, when compared with GMF. In particular, we observed that Cu content alteration in plant roots depends on the simultaneous variation of nutrient availability (Fe and S) and MF intensity (GMF and NNMF). Under S deficiency, NNMF-exposed plants displayed variations of Cu uptake, as revealed by the expression of the and genes, indicating that S availability is an important factor in maintaining Cu homeostasis under different MF intensities. Overall, our work suggests that the alteration of metal homeostasis induced by Fe and/or S deficiency in reduced GMF conditions impacts the ability of plants to grow and develop.
地磁场（GMF）是影响植物矿物质养分吸收的环境因素，也是拟南芥幼苗有效吸收铁（Fe）的因素之一。要理解环境对植物养分稳态影响的机制，需要厘清养分之间复杂的相互作用。在这项研究中，我们通过将在单一或组合 Fe 和 S 缺乏条件下生长的植物暴露于近零磁场（NNMF）条件下，研究了 GMF 对 Fe 和 S 之间相互作用的影响。通过 ICP-MS 和毛细管电泳进行矿物分析，通过 qRT-PCR 测定参与 Fe 和 S 代谢和转运的几个基因的表达。结果表明，与 GMF 相比，NNMF 会对（i）一些 Fe 和 S 响应基因的表达和（ii）植物中金属的浓度产生不同的影响。特别是，我们观察到植物根部 Cu 含量的变化取决于养分可用性（Fe 和 S）和 MF 强度（GMF 和 NNMF）的同时变化。在 S 缺乏的情况下，NNMF 暴露的植物表现出 Cu 吸收的变化，这反映在 和 基因的表达上，表明 S 可用性是在不同 MF 强度下维持 Cu 稳态的重要因素。总的来说，我们的工作表明，在降低的 GMF 条件下，Fe 和/或 S 缺乏引起的金属稳态变化会影响植物生长和发育的能力。
