Functional characterization of P1B-type heavy-metal ATPase transporters in grasses

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Improving the nutritional quality of food crops is recognized as a critical step to reducing human malnourishment. Micronutrient (e.g. iron and zinc) malnutrition is now recognized as a global problem, affecting more than 3 billion people. Biofortification (enriching nutritional content) of crops is a sustainable and cost-effective solution to micronutrient malnourishment. Food-chain contamination by non-essential trace elements, such as cadmium, also poses a risk to human health. Engineering micronutrient-rich cereal crops that also have reduced levels of toxic elements will require a thorough understanding of the transporters mediating accumulation and allocation of these elements throughout the plant. The goal of the proposed research is to identify the transporter proteins involved in uptake, translocation, and grain loading of trace elements, especially copper, zinc and cadmium, in cereals. Arabidopsis heavy-metal ATPases (HMAs) contribute to subcellular ion homeostasis, detoxification of toxic metals, and delivery of ions to long distance transport systems. Grass HMAs will be cloned and functionally characterized using yeast and the model grass, Brachypodium distachyon. Adopting Brachypodium as a model species will enable knowledge to be transferred more quickly to Triticeae crops (e.g. wheat) that are targets for biofortification. Identifying the mechanisms that control translocation of trace elements to grain will aid the development of cereals crops that can improve human health.