Multi-Scale Mechanisms of Zn-Se Antagonism in Wheat After Spray: From Subcellular Sequestration to Transcriptional Regulation.
- Open access
Zn-Se co-application in wheat reduces grain Se levels by 50% but still meets human nutritional requirements, revealing complex multi-scale antagonism mechanisms.
- Why it matters: Understanding how Zn and Se interact during foliar application is crucial for optimizing biofortification strategies to combat micronutrient deficiencies without unintended trade-offs.
- What they did: The study combined field and pot experiments, analyzing organ distribution, subcellular localization, and transcriptomic changes, focusing on key genes like SULTR3;4 and PHT2.
- The result: Findings show Zn promotes Se sequestration in leaf cell walls and soluble fractions, limiting grain transfer, yet still enables grains to meet nutrient intake goals and enhances antioxidant capacity.