ABOVE: This striped-leaf corn (top) is a mutant with an impaired ability to take up iron. Understanding the mechanisms behind iron transport could help researchers biofortify crop plants meant for human consumption.
UMASS AMHERST
The corn Elsbeth Walker grows looks a bit strange. Its leaves are streaked with yellow, instead of being entirely green. This yellow-streaked corn is a mutant that has trouble taking in iron, making it hard for the plant to create chlorophyll, a green pigment involved in photosynthesis.
Walker, a molecular biologist at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and her colleagues are studying the yellow-striped corn to learn more about how iron transport works in plants. The information they glean, she says, could help researchers genetically engineer corn and other staple grains to take in more of the mineral, and, ultimately, deliver it to people who lack sufficient iron in their diets.
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