Iron Transport in Pea Plants

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Abstract
The rate of iron movement from a nutrient solution to the shoots of intact pea plants was measured under various conditions of transpiration, metabolic inhibition, and iron concentration. Chemical and radiochemical determinations were used to measure the rate of iron transport. In short term experiments, less solution iron was transferred to the shoots of plants grown in the absence of iron than to those grown in the presence of iron. These differences were explained by assuming the root cells of the iron-starved plants absorbed iron to meet their own requirements before transferring it to the transpiration stream. Plants with decorticated roots served as a model system in which passive flow in the transpiration stream could be observed. Comparison of decorticated and normal plants indicated that iron transport from the nutrient solution to the shoots was dependent upon the metabolic activity of the root cells. Normal, intact plants were able to take up iron from colloidal particles on the root surface.