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Zinc supply influenced the growth, yield, zinc content, and expression of ZIP family transporters in sorghum

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Abstract

Main conclusion

Zinc deficiency altered shoot and root growth, plant biomass, yield, and ZIP family transporter gene expression in sorghum.

Abstract

Zinc (Zn) deficiency affects several crop plants' growth and yield, including sorghum. We have evaluated the sorghum under various concentrations of Zn supply for phenotypic changes, Zn content, and expression of Zn-regulated, iron-regulated transporter-like proteins (ZIP) family genes. Zn deficiency reduced the shoot and root growth, plant biomass, and yield by > 50%. The length and number of lateral roots were increased by more than 50% under deficient Zn compared to sufficient Zn. Ten SbZIP family transporter genes showed dynamic expression in shoot and root tissues of sorghum under deficient and sufficient Zn. SbZIP2, 5, 6, 7, and 8 were expressed in all tissues under deficient and sufficient Zn. SbZIP2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 10 were highly induced in shoot tissues by deficient Zn. The expression level of SbZIP6, 7, 8, and 9 was higher in root tissues under deficient Zn. The phylogenetic analysis revealed that most SbZIP family proteins are closely associated with the ZmZIP family of maize. The functional residues His177 and Gly182 are fully conserved in all SbZIP family transporters, as revealed by homology modeling and multiple sequence alignment. This study may provide a foundation for improving the Zn-use efficiency of sorghum.

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Data availability

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this article.

Abbreviations

MC:

Main cluster

SDW:

Shoot dry weight

RDW:

Root dry weight

SL:

Shoot length

PRL:

Primary root length

SW:

Seed weight

TMDs:

Transmembrane domains

LRL:

Lateral root length

LRN:

Lateral root number

ZIP:

Zn-regulated, iron-regulated transporter-like proteins

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, India, for providing sorghum seed.

Funding

This work was funded by Rajagiri College of Social Sciences, Kochi, Kerala, India, Under Seed Money for Faculty Minor Research.

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Author notes

  1. Theivanayagam Maharajan and Thumadath Palayullaparambil Ajeesh Krishna contributed equally.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Department of Biosciences, Rajagiri College of Social Sciences, Kochi, Kerala, 683104, India

    Theivanayagam Maharajan, Thumadath Palayullaparambil Ajeesh Krishna & Stanislaus Antony Ceasar

  2. Xavier Research Foundation, St. Xavier’s College, Palayamkottai, 627002, India

    Savarimuthu Ignacimuthu

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  1. Theivanayagam Maharajan
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  2. Thumadath Palayullaparambil Ajeesh Krishna
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Correspondence to Stanislaus Antony Ceasar.

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Maharajan, T., Krishna, T.P.A., Ceasar, S.A. et al. Zinc supply influenced the growth, yield, zinc content, and expression of ZIP family transporters in sorghum. Planta 257, 44 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-023-04076-5

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