Mol. Cells 2012; 33(3): 269~275  DOI: 10.1007/s10059-012-2231-3
Activation of Rice nicotianamine synthase 2 (OsNAS2) Enhances Iron Availability for Biofortification
Sichul Lee1, You-Sun Kim2, Un Sil Jeon3, Yoon-Keun Kim2, Jan K. Schjoerring4, and Gynheung An5,*
1Department of Biological Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, 03755, USA, 2Department of Life Science, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang 790-784, Korea, 3Department of Internal Medicine, Korea University Guro Hospital, Seoul 152-703, Korea, 4Plant and Soil Science Laboratory, Department of Agriculture and Ecology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, DK-1871 Frederiksberg C, Denmark, 5Department of Plant Molecular Systems Biotechnology and Crop Biotech Center, Kyung Hee University, Yongin 446-701, Korea
*Correspondence: genean@khu.ac.kr
Received October 19, 2011; Revised November 24, 2011; Accepted November 25, 2011.; Published online January 3, 2012.
© The Korean Society for Molecular and Cellular Biology. All rights reserved.

ABSTRACT
Because micronutrients in human diets ultimately come from plant sources, malnutrition of essential minerals is a significant public health concern. By increasing the expression of nicotianamine synthase (NAS), we fortified the level of bioavailable iron in rice seeds. Activation of iron deficiency-inducible OsNAS2 resulted in a rise in Fe content (3.0-fold) in mature seeds. Its ectopic expression also increased that content. Enhanced expression led to higher tolerance of Fe deficiency and better growth under elevated pH. Mice fed with OsNAS2-D1 seeds recovered more rapidly from anemia, indicating that bioavailable Fe contents were improved by this increase in OsNAS2 expression.
Keywords: anemia, bioavailability, mouse, rice
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