Relationship between the Hormonal Balance and the Regulation of Iron Deficiency Stress Responses in Cucumber

Some studies suggest that iron (Fe) stress root responses are regulated by variations in specific plant hormones. However, this question remains unclear. A time-course experiment dealing with the relationship between the expression of the Fe-stress root responses at transcriptional (CsFRO1, CsIRT1, CsHA1, and CsHA2) and enzymatic levels [root Fe(III)-chelate reductase and plasma membrane H+-ATPase], and the variation of phytohormone concentrations in the shoot and root of Fe-starved plants have been studied in a Fe-efficient cucumber cultivar (Cucumis sativus L. cv. Ashley). The results indicate that the expression over time of the physiological Fe-stress root responses at transcriptional and enzyme activity levels are consistent with significant increases in indole-3-acetic acid root (transient) and shoot (sustained) concentrations. Fe-starvation also caused transient changes in the root concentration of abscisic acid and nitric oxide. Finally, an increase in root ethylene production and a decrease in the root concentration of some cytokinins were observed under Fe starvation, but they were not clearly timely coordinated with the expression of Fe physiological root responses.