Iron sensing modules participate in rhizospheric pH perception in rice

Root-specific transcriptomics in rice links rhizospheric pH to relative Fe availability, with JA–auxin crosstalk mediating responses to acidic versus alkaline conditions.

• Why it matters: Rhizospheric pH strongly shapes plant physiology, but the sensing pathway that converts pH-driven changes in Fe availability into coordinated physiological responses remains unclear.
• What they did: The authors combined root-specific RNA-seq with ICPMS, hormone quantification, and physiological validation in rice to test how Fe availability varies with rhizospheric pH and how JA–auxin signaling responds.
• The result: The data indicate plants deduce relative Fe toxicity under acidic pH and Fe deficiency under alkaline pH, and JA–auxin crosstalk regulates the resulting physiological responses to rhizospheric pH.

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