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For typical growth and development, plants have a range of needs for which they require metals as intrinsic micronutrients. Ions of heavy metals including copper (Cu2+), zinc (Zn2+), manganese (Mn2+), iron (Fe2+), nickel (Ni2+) and cobalt (Co2+) have crucial function in plant’s cellular function as well as metabolism. Amongst these micronutrients, iron play an essential role in plants as it is required for many vital processes like respiration, photosynthesis and also plays requisite role in redox reactions along with electron transfer. Plants are the major sources of iron for human population and its deficiency can lead to major health problems. Biofortifications of staple crops can be one such step to achieve optimum human nutrition demand and cater a larger population. For effective biofortification, it is important to understand the molecular players which regulate iron homeostasis and its transport in plants. In the current study, we analysed iron regulation in Cicer arietinum, the second-largest consumed legume in the world. A MULTIDRUG AND TOXIN EFFLUX (MATE) family gene was evaluated for its ability to translocate iron during Fe-deficiency. In-silico promoter analysis of this member of MATE family revealed important cis regulatory elements and transcription factor binding sites such as WRKY, TATA box, bHLH, MYB, CAAT box. To validate the binding of WRKY46 on MATE promoter, Y1H (yeast one hybrid) assay was performed which could not identify any positive interaction. Therefore, further confirmation through other approaches like EMSA and Dual luciferase assay is required. Further, in order to study the role and function of Car_MATE7 transporter, Arabidopsis SALK_lines were successfully screened for complementation analysis. The subcellular localization study revealed that Car_MATE7 transporter is localized in the plasma membrane suggesting its easier availability for iron transport. These experiments will provide an insight into the regulation of iron in chickpea and provide future perspective for biofortification of crops.
Keywords: Chickpea, biofortification, iron-deficiency, MATE, Y1H.
