Two iron-regulated transporter (IRT) genes showed differential expression in poplar trees under iron or zinc deficiency

Two iron-regulated transporter (IRT) genes were cloned from the iron chlorosis resistant (PtG) and susceptible (PtY) Populus tremula 'Erecta' lines. Nucleotide sequence analysis showed no significant difference between PtG and PtY. The predicted proteins contain a conserved ZIP domain with 8 transmembrane (TM) regions. A ZIP signature sequence was found in the fourth TM domain. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that PrIRT1 was clustered with tomato and tobacco IRT genes that are highly responsible to iron deficiency. The PrIRT3 gene was clustered with the AtIRT3 gene that was related to zinc and iron transport in plants. Tissue specific expression indicated that PrIRT1 only expressed in the root, while PrIRT3 constitutively expressed in all tested tissues. Under iron deficiency, the expression of PtIRT1 was dramatically increased and a significantly higher transcript level was detected in PtG than in PtY. Iron deficiency also enhanced the expression of PrIRT3 in PtG. On the other hand, zinc deficiency down-regulated the expression of PrIRT1 and PrIRT3 in both PtG and PtY. Zinc accumulated significantly under iron-deficient conditions, whereas the zinc deficiency showed no significant effect on iron accumulation. A yeast complementation test revealed that the PrIRT1 and PrIRT3 genes could restore the iron uptake ability under the iron uptakedeficiency condition. The results will help understand the mechanisms of iron deficiency response in poplar trees and other woody species. (C) 2015 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.