Arabidopsis thaliana Tolerates Iron Deficiency more than Thellungiella Salsuginea by Inducing Metabolic Changes at the Root Level

Several studies have used as a model to identify the physiological and molecular mechanisms underlying iron deficiency tolerance in plants. Here, and were used to investigate the differential responses to iron deficiency of these two species. Plants were cultivated in hydroponic medium containing 5 or 0 μM Fe, for 10 days. Results showed that rosette biomass was more reduced in than in when grown on Fe-deficient medium. As a marker for iron deficiency tolerance, the induction of ferric chelate reductase (FCR) and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC) activities was observed only in roots. In addition, we found that the accumulation of phenolic acids in roots of N1438 ecotype of was stimulated by Fe deficiency. Furthermore, an increase of flavonoids content in the root and exudates was observed under Fe-deficiency in this ecotype. Unlike other abiotic stresses, it appears that iron deficiency effects were more pronounced in than in . The higher tolerance of the plant to iron deficiency may be due to the metabolic changes occurring in the roots.