Iron Deficiency Triggered Transcriptome Changes in Bread Wheat

Iron (Fe) plays a pivotal role in several metabolic and biosynthetic pathways essential for plant growth. Fe deficiency in plants severely affects the overall crop yield. Despite several studies on iron deficiency responses in different plant species, these mechanisms remain unclear in the allohexaploid wheat, which is the most widely cultivated commercial crop. In order to gain a comprehensive insight into molecular responses of bread wheat when exposed to iron deficiency, we studied transcriptomic changes in the roots and flag leaves of wheat plants subjected to iron-deficient and iron-sufficient conditions during early grain filling. Triticum aestivum cv. Bobwhite S26 seeds were germinated on wet filter paper for 7 days and then transferred to the hydroponic system in the greenhouse conditions (22˚C/18˚C with 16-hour-light/8-hour-dark cycle, 60% relative humidity). All the seedlings were first maintained in iron-sufficient hydroponic solution for 7 days and then half of the plants were transferred to iron-deficient hydroponic solutions (iron-sufficient condition: 100.0 μM Fe; iron-deficient condition: 10.0 μM Fe). Roots and flag leaves were collected at 8-10 days post anthesis (DPA), i.e., around the commencement of grain filling. Three biological replicates were collected for each sample. Twelve samples were collected in total.