Séminaire Mistral

Les séminaires ont lieu sur le Campus Montpellier SupAgro/INRA de La Gaillarde (2, place P. Viala Montpellier)

Lundi 8 juillet 2024 à 14h – Amphi 208 (Cœur d’École)

Ana Assunção
CIBIO/BIOPOLIS, Research Centre in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources, University of Porto, Campus Vairão, Portugal

Zinc sensing in plants

All organisms require zinc (Zn) as an essential micronutrient due to its structural and catalytic role in many proteins. In plants, membrane transporters and low-molecular-weight ligands play a major role in maitaining an adequate Zn aquisition, distribution and intracellular availability. A tight regulation of the Zn homeostasis is important to avoid Zn deficiency or toxicity (1). In Arabidopsis thaliana, the transcription factors bZIP19 and bZIP23 are the central regulators of the Zn deficiency response and act as Zn sensors. They are F-group basic leucine-zipper proteins (F-bZIP), characterized by a cysteine/histidine-rich domain, which is essential for their function as sensors of intracellular Zn status (2). In addition, there is evidence for evolutionary conservation of F-bZIP transcription factors and the regulation of the Zn deficiency response across land pants (3).
Here, I will present an overview of the F-bZIP regulated Zn deficiency response in Arabidopsis thaliana and provide examples of translational approaches to investigate the effect of modulating F-bZIP activity on Zn nutritional value in crops. This is significant considering the widespread problem of Zn-deficient soils and human Zn malnutrition.

References
1. Assunção AGLA (2022) The F‑bZIP‑regulated Zn deficiency response in land plants. Planta 256:108.
2. Lilay GH, Persson DP, Castro PH, et al (2021) Arabidopsis bZIP19 and bZIP23 act as zinc sensors to control plant zinc status. Nat Plants 7:137–143.
3. Castro PH, Lilay GH, Munoz-Merida A, et al (2017) Phylogenetic analysis of F-bZIP transcription factors indicates conservation of the zinc deficiency response across land plants. Sci Rep 7:3806.