Abstract
Zinc is an essential nutrient for cells playing a vital role in controlling cellular processes such as growth, development and differentiation. OsZIP4 is a zinc transporter which localizes to apical cells. We have produced transgenic rice over expressing OsZIP4 under the control of CaMV 35S promoter. Zinc concentration in 35S-OsZIP4 transgenic plants was higher than that of control in roots, and was lower in shoots and seeds. Northern blot analysis revealed that transcripts of OsZIP4 expression driven by CaMV 35S promoter were detected in roots and shoots of 35S-OsZIP4 transgenic plants, but endogenous OsZIP4 transcripts were decreased in roots, and increased in shoots as compared with control. Microarray analysis revealed that the genes expressed in 35S-OsZIP4 shoots coincided with those induced of zinc deficient shoots. These results indicated that OsZIP4 changed the zinc distribution inside rice, and that OsZIP4 is a critical zinc transporter that should be strictly regulated.
