Increasing the iron and zinc contents of plants

To increase the (bioavailable) iron and zinc content in plants several strategies can be followed. The most straightforward is to breed for enhanced mineral contents in plants. So far, sufficient variation has been found in most of the important crop species to allow a breeding approach. However, the trait is not easy to breed for because of strong environmental effects and the absence of genetic markers. The alternative is to use a biotechnological approach using genetically modified plants, but this requires proper knowledge on the physiological and genetic aspects of zinc and iron uptake and translocation. Recently zinc and iron homeostasis is increasingly studied at the molecular level. We are using the model species Arabidopsis thaliana and the zinc hyperaccumulator Thlaspi caerulescens for better understanding the regulation of zinc and iron homeostasis and to identify target genes for modification. These results will be discussed in relation to the general aim to increase iron and zinc content of plants