A genome-wide association study identifies a transporter for zinc uploading to maize kernels.

The Zn content in cereal seeds is an important trait for crop production as well as for human health. However, little is known about how Zn is loaded to plant seeds. Here, through a genome-wide association study (GWAS), we identify the Zn-NA (nicotianamine) transporter gene ZmYSL2 that is responsible for loading Zn to maize kernels. High promoter sequence variation in ZmYSL2 most likely drives the natural variation in Zn concentrations in maize kernels. ZmYSL2 is specifically localized on the plasma membrane facing the maternal tissue of the basal endosperm transfer cell layer (BETL) and functions in loading Zn-NA into the BETL. Overexpression of ZmYSL2 increases the Zn concentration in the kernels by 31.6%, which achieves the goal of Zn biofortification of maize. These findings resolve the mystery underlying the loading of Zn into plant seeds, providing an efficient strategy for breeding or engineering maize varieties with enriched Zn nutrition.

Anaerobic induction of isocitrate lyase and malate synthase in submerged rice seedlings indicates the important metabolic role of the glyoxylate cycle.

The glyoxylate cycle is a modified form of the tricarboxylic acid cycle that converts C2 compounds into C4 dicarboxylic acids at plant developmental stages. By studying submerged rice seedlings, we revealed the activation of the glyoxylate cycle by identifying the increased transcripts of mRNAs of the genes of isocitrate lyase (ICL) and malate synthase (MS), two characteristic enzymes of the glyoxylate cycle. Northern blot analysis showed that ICL and MS were activated in the prolonged anaerobic environment. The activity assay of pyruvate decarboxylase and ICL in the submerged seedlings indicated an 8.8-fold and 3.5-fold increase over that in the unsubmerged seedlings, respectively. The activity assay of acetyl-coenzyme A synthetase in the submerged seedlings indicated a 3-fold increase over that in the unsubmerged seedlings, which is important for initiating acetate metabolism. Consequently, we concluded that the glyoxylate cycle was involved in acetate metabolism under anaerobic conditions.