Abstract
Iron (Fe) is essential for most living organisms and is the most commonly deficient micronutrient in the human diet, with an estimated 1 billion people worldwide suffering from Fe deficiency. Increased atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration due to global climate change is predicted to reduce the amount of Fe present in several crops and thus may reinforce Fe nutritional issues. Although Fe is one of the most abundant elements found in soil, it is generally poorly available to plants since it is mainly present in the form of insoluble Fe (hydr)oxides. This is for instance the case in calcareous soils that represent one-third of the world’s cultivated lands. To cope with this poor bioavailability, plants have evolved a sophisticated mechanisms to mine Fe from the soil. Recently, it has emerged that non-grass species secrete Fe-mobilizing coumarins (specialized metabolites) by the plant root system via the PDR9 transporter to improve Fe uptake. Here we will present recent findings on the characterization of a potential novel transporter of Fe-mobilizing coumarins, PDR9-like.