Glutathione plays an essential role in nitric oxide-mediated iron deficiency signaling and iron deficiency tolerance in Arabidopsis.

In this study, we found that the zir1 mutant, defective in glutathione production, was found to be more sensitive to Fe deficiency than the wild type, and grew poorly in alkaline soil. Furthermore, the key genes involved in Fe uptake are expressed at low levels in zir1. The expression of these genes was positively correlated to the accumulation of nitric oxide (NO) under Fe deficiency. NO was proposed to be a signaling molecule involved in the up-regulation of Fe-uptake-related genes during Fe deficiency.
Kuo-Chen Yeh