Roots in Action for the Fe Response: Early Response-Omics in Tomato Dependent on the N-Form Applied

Among macro- and micro-nutrients, N and Fe are the two nutrients mainly applied as fertilizers. There is a gap of knowledge about the interplay between N forms (nitrate, ammonium and urea) and the Fe response activated in plants under shortage condition of the nutrients.

Depending on the N form available to roots, plants activate different transcriptional and metabolic pathways and adjust the release of root exudates. The release of protons and other exudates by roots can promote the bioavailability of Fe in the rhizosphere. In the present work the reciprocal relationship between availability of Fe and different N forms (nitrate, ammonium, or urea) has been investigated for the molecular mechanisms activated by plants to promote their acquisition by omic data integration (“exudomic” x transcriptomic analyses).