Expression data from roots of Arabidopsis grown under sulfur, iron or potassium limitation

Deprivation of mineral nutrients causes significant retardation of plant growth. This slow growth is assumed to be associated with both nutrient specific transcriptional responses and additionally with common transcription patterns. In this study we adjusted the external supply of iron, potassium and sulfur to cause a similar retardation of growth. Global transcriptome analyses were performed to investigate whether the growth limitation by the different nutrient deficiencies triggered specific or similar transcriptional responses. The global transcriptome responded specifically to sulfur, iron or potassium deprivation. Arabidopsis thaliana plants were grown hydroponically under short-day conditions (8h light / 16h dark cycles) under full nutrient supply or under the limitation of sulfur, iron or potassium. Arabidopsis root material was harvested when the plants reached the age of 7 weeks (from sowing) and used for RNA extraction and hybridization on Affymetrix microarrays. Four biological replicates from each condition were analyzed.