Comparison of iron acquisition from Fe–pyoverdine by strategy I and strategy II plants

Abstract

Iron is an essential micronutrient for plants and associated microorganisms. However, the bioavailability of iron in cultivated soils is low. Plants and microorganisms have thus evolved active strategies of iron uptake. Two different iron uptake strategies have been described in dicotyledonous and monocotyledonous graminaceous species. In bacteria, this strategy relies on the synthesis of siderophores. Pyoverdines, a major class of siderophores produced by fluorescent pseudomonads, were previously shown to promote iron nutrition of the dicotyledonous species Arabidopsis thaliana L. (Heynh.), whereas contradictory reports were made on the contribution of those siderophores to the nutrition of graminaceous annuals. Furthermore, no information has so far been available on graminaceous perennials. Here, the contribution of purified pyoverdine of Pseudomonas fluorescens C7R12 to the iron nutrition of two annual and perennial graminaceous plants was assessed and compared with that of two dicotyledonous plant species. Fe–Pyoverdine promoted the iron status of all plant species tested. With the exception of wheat, this promotion was more dramatic in graminaceous species than in dicotyledonous species and was the highest in fescue, a perennial species. The incorporation of 15N-labeled pyoverdine was consistent with the effect on the iron status of the plants tested.