Molecular mechanisms of environmental responses
Since plants cannot move, they must have a system for preferentially delivering an adequate amount of minerals to the organs for active growth and development, while preventing mineral overaccumulation in the face of changing environments. We found that a member of the Nramp transporter family, OsNramp3, functions as a switch in response to environmental Mn changes. At low Mn concentration, OsNramp3 preferentially transports Mn to young leaves and panicles. However, at high Mn concentration, the OsNramp3 protein is rapidly degraded within a few hours, resulting in the distribution of Mn to old tissues.
Key publication
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Yamaji, N., Sasaki, A., Xia, J.X., Yokosho, K and Ma, J.F. 2013. A node-based switch for preferential distribution of manganese in rice. Nat. Commun. 4:2442 doi: 10.1038/ncomms3442.
