Submitted to: Micronutrients and Agriculture
Publication Type: Other
Publication Acceptance Date: February 1, 1996
Publication Date: N/A
Interpretive Summary: The author of this newsletter article summarizes the progress he has made toward identifying the processes of iron nutrition in important food crops, such as the pea plant. The scientist is identifying the mechanisms that control the plant's ability to absorb and store iron in edible organs. Two pea mutants that are able to accumulate excess amounts of iron in their leaves are being studied; one mutant was able to boost the iron content of its seeds four times over that of normal pea types. The scientist also showed that iron has to combine with another compound to get from the leaves to the seeds, via the phloem pathway. Also, he showed it's possible to alter certain root processes to get extra amounts of iron inside the plant. This research will contribute to work under way to breed new types of high-iron crops that will improve human nutrition, especially in population groups that exhibit iron-deficiency anemia.
Technical Abstract: No technical abstract is needed for this article.