Elucidating the role of ERF transcription factors in regulating iron homeostasis in lentil (lens culinaris)

Title : Elucidating the role of ERF transcription factors in regulating iron homeostasis in lentil (lens culinaris)

Abstract:

Iron (Fe) is an essential micronutrient required for key plant processes including photosynthesis, respiration, and nucleotide biosynthesis. Although iron is abundant in soils, iron availability to plants is often limited due to low solubility, in calcareous soils that constitute nearly one-third of global arable land. As a result, iron deficiency is a major nutritional stress that significantly reduces crop productivity worldwide. Enhancing iron uptake and seed iron accumulation is therefore a critical strategy for developing biofortified crops to address micronutrient malnutrition. Lentil, a nutritionally rich grain legume widely consumed by vegetarians, represents an ideal target for iron biofortification. To elucidate the molecular basis of iron uptake, transcriptome profiling was performed on two lentil genotypes contrasting for seed iron content and iron deficiency response. RNA-seq analysis identified 7,613 differentially expressed genes, including 311 transcription factors across 35 families, with Ethylene Responsive Factors (ERFs) being overrepresented. Among these, LcERF1 and LcERF2 showed strong differential expression and protein-protein interaction assays confirmed the heterodimerization potential of these ERFs in-planta. Functional validation using overexpression and knockdown in lentil hairy root lines demonstrated their significant role in iron uptake under deficiency conditions, mediated through transcriptional regulation of the iron transporter IRT1. An additional approach to enhance Fe levels in seeds for human consumption with an overall aim to mitigate micronutrient malnutrition, to understand the complex genetic basis of seed Fe accumulation, a GWAS using 120 diverse lentil accessions identified four stable marker–trait associations. Candidate genes, including NuDiX hydrolases and LRR-RLK kinase, emerged as key regulators of iron homeostasis and promising targets for CRISPR–Cas– based crop improvement.

Biography:

Sapna is a dedicated and hardworking research scholar. She completed her M.Sc. in Genetics from Maharshi Dayanand University, where she was awarded a gold medal for her outstanding academic performance. She further pursued a post graduate diploma in genetic counseling from Punjabi university, Patiala. currently, she is pursuing her Ph.D. at the National Institute of Plant Genome Research (NIPGR), New Delhi, India. Her doctoral research focuses on enhancing the nutritional quality of lentil by understanding the molecular mechanisms that regulate iron uptake, transport, and accumulation in plants. Specifically, her work aims to identify and characterize transcription factors involved in plant iron homeostasis and elucidate their regulatory networks. Using molecular, genetic, and biochemical approaches, she investigates how these regulators influence iron acquisition and distribution under varying environmental conditions. Her research contributes to the development of biofortified lentil varieties with improved iron content, addressing micronutrient deficiency and promoting nutritional security.