Abstract

Some things are crucial for life in small doses, but too much of it can be harmful or even fatal. Take salt, for example. We cannot survive without it, but it can poison or even kill us if we eat too much of it. Iron works similarly for many organisms, including plants. Plants cannot grow or function without it, but too much iron can do a lot of damage. Therefore, they need to carefully regulate how much of it they take in. How exactly do plants do this?

We looked at how the normal version and a mutant form of Thale cress, a model organism, regulate their iron uptake by comparing their gene products, root growth, and the amount and location of chemical gene tags. We found that epigenetic factors are involved in controlling iron uptake. Read on to find out exactly what that means!