Rice Iron Metabolism: from Source to Solution

Iron is an important micronutrient for plants. Iron metabolism is a complex mechanism under a delicate balance. Iron metabolism represents two major problems for plants: deficiency as a consequence of solubility problems and toxicity due to excess solubility in anaerobic conditions. In the last few years, new genes have been discovered that influence iron uptake, transport and storage. Irrigated rice is exposed to high levels of $Fe^{II}$, normally rare in aerobic soil conditions. The implications of altering iron uptake rates and the effects of newly discovered genes are discussed.