TITLE:
Iron Nutrition vis-à-vis Aconitase Activity and Ferritin Accumulation in Tropical Indica Rice Cultivars Differing in Grain Iron Concentration
AUTHORS:
Binay Bhusan Panda, Srigopal Sharma, Pravat Kumar Mohapatra, Avijit Das
KEYWORDS:
Rice, Iron, Aconitase, Ferritin
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Plant Sciences,
Vol.5 No.18,
August
29,
2014
ABSTRACT: Effect of Fe nutrition on Fe acquisition, aconitase enzyme activity and
assimilation of the element in ferritin protein was studied in two indica rice cultivars viz. Sharbati and Lalat having contrasting grain Fe
concentration. Young rice seedlings were grown in hydroponics with different
levels of Fe. For comparison, the two cultivars were also grown in the field
under natural conditions of rice culture. Iron accumulation, aconitase activity
and ferritin level were higher in the high Fe containing cultivar, Sharbati than that in the low Fe
containing cultivar, Lalat. While aconitase
activity increased consistently with the increase in concentration of Fe in the
growing medium, the same was not found to be true for accumulation of ferritin
protein. The leaf ferritin level increased up to a certain level of Fe in the
growing medium and declined thereafter. Levels of Fe in the growing medium
giving maximum ferritin synthesis were found to be different in the two rice
cultivars. In both cultivars, aconitase activity attained maximum level after 20
days of panicle emergence (heading). Pattern of Fe accumulation in the leaves
in response to increasing Fe level in the nutrient solution paralleled with
that of the aconitase activity indicating a positive correlation. It was
concluded that accumulation of both ferritin protein and aconitase enzyme were
influenced not only by the Fe level in the growing medium but also by the
internal Fe concentration of the two cultivars.