Jump to main content
US EPA
United States Environmental Protection Agency
Search
Search
Main menu
Environmental Topics
Laws & Regulations
About EPA
Health & Environmental Research Online (HERO)
Contact Us
Print
Feedback
Export to File
Search:
This record has one attached file:
Add More Files
Attach File(s):
Display Name for File*:
Save
Citation
Tags
HERO ID
3110349
Reference Type
Journal Article
Subtype
Review
Title
Many rivers to cross: the journey of zinc from soil to seed
Author(s)
Olsen, LI; Palmgren, MG
Year
2014
Is Peer Reviewed?
Yes
Journal
Frontiers in Plant Science
ISSN:
1664-462X
Volume
5
Page Numbers
30
Language
English
PMID
24575104
DOI
10.3389/fpls.2014.00030
Web of Science Id
WOS:000331536000001
Abstract
An important goal of micronutrient biofortification is to enhance the amount of bioavailable zinc in the edible seed of cereals and more specifically in the endosperm. The picture is starting to emerge for how zinc is translocated from the soil through the mother plant to the developing seed. On this journey, zinc is transported from symplast to symplast via multiple apoplastic spaces. During each step, zinc is imported into a symplast before it is exported again. Cellular import and export of zinc requires passage through biological membranes, which makes membrane-bound transporters of zinc especially interesting as potential transport bottlenecks. Inside the cell, zinc can be imported into or exported out of organelles by other transporters. The function of several membrane proteins involved in the transport of zinc across the tonoplast, chloroplast or plasma membranes are currently known. These include members of the ZIP (ZRT-IRT-like Protein), and MTP (Metal Tolerance Protein) and heavy metal ATPase (HMA) families. An important player in the transport process is the ligand nicotianamine that binds zinc to increase its solubility in living cells and in this way buffers the intracellular zinc concentration.
Keywords
plants; seeds; apoplastic barrier; zinc; nicotianamine
Home
Learn about HERO
Using HERO
Search HERO
Projects in HERO
Risk Assessment
Transparency & Integrity