记者从中科院华南植物园获悉，近日，该园科学家成功鉴定了水稻数十个参与铁硫合成的相关基因，并总结了这些基因对不同非生物胁迫的响应规律。该研究成果日前在线发表于《植物细胞与环境》。

据介绍，铁硫蛋白在植物、动物、微生物中广泛存在。其主要在细胞叶绿体、线粒体和细胞质中合成，是一种能够在生命活动中起重要作用的电子载体。目前，学界仅对模式植物拟南芥铁硫蛋白的合成有较为深入的研究，而对于其他植物，尤其是作物中铁硫蛋白的研究较少。

华南植物园植物矿物质代谢研究组硕士研究生梁雪娇、博士秦璐和实验助理王美欢等在课题组长叶宏研究员的指导下，以中国主要的粮食作物——水稻作为研究材料，通过同源比对，鉴定了水稻41个参与铁硫合成的相关基因。同时根据在实际生产过程中水稻可能面临的非生物胁迫，对水稻幼苗进行了铅毒、镉毒、铝毒、低铁、高铁、氧化胁迫等不同非生物胁迫处理。研究结果表明，铁硫蛋白合成相关基因对不同非生物胁迫的响应具有明显的规律。

业内专家认为，该研究首次对水稻铁硫蛋白合成相关基因及其在非生物胁迫下的表达规律进行了全面分析和总结，对水稻遗传改良育种候选基因的筛选具有重要的指导意义。（来源：中国科学报 李洁尉）

Genes for iron–sulphur cluster assembly are targets of abiotic stress

 in rice, Oryza sativa

Abstract  Iron–sulphur (Fe–S) cluster assembly occurs in chloroplasts, mitochondria and cytosol, involving dozens of genes in higher plants. In this study, we have identified 41 putative Fe–S cluster assembly genes in rice (Oryza sativa) genome, and the expression of all genes was verified. To investigate the role of Fe–S cluster assembly as a metabolic pathway, we applied abiotic stresses to rice seedlings and analysed Fe–S cluster assembly gene expression by qRT-PCR. Our data showed that genes for Fe–S cluster assembly in chloroplasts of leaves are particularly sensitive to heavy metal treatments, and that Fe–S cluster assembly genes in roots were up-regulated in response to iron toxicity, oxidative stress and some heavy metal assault. The effect of each stress treatment on the Fe–S cluster assembly machinery demonstrated an unexpected tissue or organelle specificity, suggesting that the physiological relevance of the Fe–S cluster assembly is more complex than thought. Furthermore, our results may reveal potential candidate genes for molecular breeding of rice.

原文链接： http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/pce.12198/pdf