Sequence Diversity and Enzyme Activity of Ferric-Chelate Reductase LeFRO1 in Tomato

Ferric-chelate reductase which functions in the reduction of ferric to ferrous iron on root surface is a critical protein for iron homeostasis in strategy I plants. LeFRO1 is a major ferric-chelate reductase involved in iron uptake in tomato. To identify the natural variations of LeFRO1 and to assess their effect on the ferric-chelate reductase activity, we cloned the coding sequences of LeFRO1 from 16 tomato varieties collected from different regions, and detected three types of LeFRO1 (LeFRO1^MM, LeFRO1^Ailsa and LeFRO1^Monita) with five amino acid variations at the positions 21, 24, 112, 195 and 582. Enzyme activity assay revealed that the three types of LeFRO1 possessed different ferric-chelate reductase activity (LeFRO1^Ailsa > LeFRO1^MM > LeFRO1^Monita). The 112th amino acid residue Ala of LeFRO1 is critical for maintaining the high activity of ferric-chelate reductase, because modification of this amino acid resulted in a significant reduction of enzyme activity. Further, we showed that the combination of the amino acid residue Ile at the site 24 with Lys at the site 582 played a positive role in the enzyme activity of LeFRO1. In conclusion, the findings are helpful to understand the natural adaptation mechanisms of plants to iron-limiting stress, and may provide new knowledge to select and manipulate LeFRO1 for improving the iron deficiency tolerance in tomato.