ENA1, a newly identified root NA exporter in Arabidopsis, modulates zinc homeostasis

A research team led by Dr. Kuo-Chen Yeh identified ENA1, a plasma membrane-localized transporter that mediates the root secretion of nicotianamine (NA) — a key metal chelator. This discovery uncovers a novel mechanism by which plants regulate zinc (Zn) detoxification and tolerance, recently published in New Phytologist. The study shows that the Zn hyperaccumulator
Arabidopsis halleri expresses significantly higher levels of ENA1 than A. thaliana, and under excess Zn conditions, ENA1 promotes NA secretion into the rhizosphere. This reduces Zn uptake and alleviates toxicity via Zn–NA complex formation. The findings open up new avenues for developing plants with enhanced phytoremediation capacity and improved nutritional value
through targeted manipulation of NA transport.

Kuo-Chen Yeh

Yi-Tze Chen, Jing-chi Lo, Tomoko Nozoye, Ying-Chu Lo, Chun-Hao Hu, Naoko K. Nishizawa and Kuo-Chen Yeh* (2025) ENA1, a newly identified root NA exporter in Arabidopsis, modulates zinc homeostasis New Phytologist, http://doi.org/10.1111/nph.70522