Week 5 Flashcards
What are macronutrients used by plants and mammals?
C, H, O, N, K, Ca, Mg, P, S
What are micronutrients used by plants and mammals?
Cl, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, Mo, Ni
What are elements used by just plants?
Boron (B, in cell walls)
Silicon (Si, e.g. in grasses)
What are elements used by just mammals?
Fluorine (F, in teeth)
Cobalt (Co, in vitamin B12)
Selenium (Se, as selenocysteine in 4 enzymes)
Iodine (I, in thyroid hormone)
What are examples of mineral deficiencies in humans?
Iron deficiency: fatigue, anaemia ~ 2 billion people
B12 deficiency: anaemia (in vegans and vegetarians)
Zinc deficiency: skin rash
Iodine deficiency: Goitre
Why are iron, zinc and other metals so important?
17% of all known proteins bind Fe or Zn
Without the bound metal, the proteins (e.g. enzymes) are not functional
What are the paradoxes of iron?
- Iron is one of the most abundant elements in the earth’s crust and yet it is often a limited nutrient due to insolubility of Fe3+
- Iron is essential for all living organisms and yet it is toxic
“Iron is expensive to acquire and costly to handle”
What are the properties of iron in biology?
Iron mostly functions in electron transfer: Fe3+ + e- <–> Fe2+
Fe2+ and Fe3+ can also generate hydroxyl radicals (Fenton Reaction), which damage DNA, proteins and lipids
What is an overview of Fe(III) concentration?
The availability of iron in the soil depends upon the pH: the
The amount of iron required for the normal growth of plants is 10-9 to 10-4 M
Fe(III) equilibrium concentration in neutral soils is ~10-17M, more in acidic soils, less in alkaline soils (e.g. lime)
What is an overview of the photosynthetic protein complexes that contain most of the iron?
PSII - Fe Mn4Ca
Cytb6f - 2 Fe (haem) [2Fe-2S]
PsaC in PS1 - [2Fe-2S]
What is an overview of iron deficiency symptoms in plants?
When iron is limiting, the plant economizes on photosynthetic complexes, and chlorophyll biosynthesis is down-regulated. This causes the pale appearance (lack of green Mg-chlorophyll), except for the veins
What is an overview of zinc?
Relatively abundant in most soils, present as Zn2+ (free or chelated)
Zn deficiency in crops is not very common, but if it occurs it presents as necrotic tissue; Zn toxicity can also occur, e.g. near zinc mines
What is an overview of zinc in plants?
Some plant species can tolerate zinc-rich soils by hyper-accumulating the metal in cell walls
Used in Zn-finger transcription factors and a range of enzymes (e.g. alcohol dehydrogenase)
What is the estimated number of genes for handling iron and zinc?
Storage of minerals in seeds for the seedling upon germination - ~10 genes
Transport - 50 transporters and 5 for chelators
Use of metals for enzyme catalysis (Fe, Zn) or protein structure (Zn) - 30 for inserting metals
Active mobilization of minerals from the soil - 5 for uptake and 10 for chelators
What are the 4 basic parts of iron homeostasis?
High-affinity iron transport
Deposition of intracellular iron stores
Control of iron consumption
Iron-responsive regulatory system
What is an overview of high-affinity iron transport?
High-affinity iron transport enabling iron to scavenge, in
various forms, from the surroundings
What is an overview of intracellular iron stores?
Deposition of intracellular iron stores to provide a source of iron that can be drawn upon when external supplies are limited
What is an overview of control of iron consumption?
Control of iron consumption by down-regulating the expression of iron-containing proteins under iron-restricted conditions
What is an overview of iron-responsive regulatory system?
An iron-responsive regulatory system that coordinates the expression of the above iron homeostatic machinery according to iron availability
What is an overview of homeostasis?
The maintenance of a stable equilibrium, especially through physiological processes
What are the two mechanisms for Fe soil uptake?
Production of small organic molecules
Acidification of the soil
What is an overview of the production of small organic molecule production for Fe soil uptake
Production of small organic molecules that are secreted into the soil and chelate iron. The iron chelates (called phytosiderophores) are taken up by specific transporter proteins
What is an overview of the acification of soil for Fe uptake?
Acidification of the soil to solubilize iron hydroxides and iron chelates, reduction of Fe3+ to Fe2+, then uptake of Fe2+ via a divalent metal transporter
What is an overview of the genes for Fe uptake mechanisms under Fe deficiency?
Genes involved in these pathways are upregulated under Fe deficiency