Iron utilization and metabolism in plants

The solubilization and long-distance allocation of iron between organs and tissues, as well as its subcellular compartmentalization and remobilization, involve various chelation and oxidation/reduction steps, transport activities and association with soluble proteins that store and buffer this metal. Maintaining iron homeostasis is an important determinant in building prosthetic groups such as heme and Fe–S clusters, and in assembling them into apoproteins, which are major components of plant metabolism. Such processes require complex protein machineries located in mitochondria and plastids. An essential role for iron metabolism and utilization in plant productivity is evidenced by the strong iron requirement for proper photosynthetic reactions.