Functional study on ZIP family member LcZIP10 of Leymus chinensis

As a established species in Inner Mongolia grasslands, Leymus chinensis is a high-quality forage resource. However, there are still relatively few reports on its mineral nutrient regulation mechanisms. Zinc-regulated transporters and iron-regulated transporter-like proteins (ZIP) are the main functional proteins for plants to absorb zinc and iron ions from soil. These are mainly responsible for absorbing and transporting essential trace elements for plants. In this study, LcZIP10 was screened from the L. chinensis transcriptome database, which is a homologous gene of AtZIP10 in the Arabidopsis thaliana ZIP family. The results have shown that LcZIP10 was expressed in the roots and leaves, and the expression was significantly higher in the leaves than in the roots. Meanwhile, LcZIP10 expression was induced by high Fe conditions and the protein encoded by this gene was localized in the vesicle membrane. Subsequently, yeast functional complementation experiments demonstrated that LcZIP10 was able to restore the growth of iron-sensitive yeast mutants (Δfet3/Δfet4), indicating an Fe²⁺ transport function. The results of this study have some reference value for the future development and use of trace elements in enhancing the quality of crops.