Iron transport and homeostasis in plants: current updates and applications for improving human nutrition values and sustainable agriculture

Abstract

Agriculture and plant science face a formidable challenge in feeding the world’s expanding population in a sustainable, sufficient, and nutrient-rich manner. The mineral micronutrient composition of food crops merits special consideration. Globally, cultivated soil and plant micronutrient deficits have negative impacts on crop yield, plant nutritional value, human health and well-being. This article reviews the present knowledge on iron (Fe) uptake, transport, subcellular translocation, and its regulation at the molecular level mainly on Oryza sativa and Arabidopsis thaliana, which typically represent graminaceous and non-graminaceous plants, respectively. This study emphasizes the recent advancements in various approaches, including high-throughput technologies (NGS, proteomics, ionomics) and genetic engineering such as CRISPR/Cas for Fe biofortification in crop plants and their subsequent impact on human health. The aforementioned information can be applied to elevate the Fe content in model plants along with various fruit and vegetable crops. This might be helpful for nutritious food production for large human population in the world to achieve one of the most important Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for nutrition security.