Arabidopsis thaliana and Thlaspi caerulescens respond comparably to low zinc supply

The main objective of this research was to study the response of Arabidopsis thaliana L. and Thlaspi caerulescens J. & C. Presl to different Zn supplies. The A. thaliana plants were exposed to Zn-deficiency (0 and 0.05 ¿M Zn) and compared to the plants grown on media containing standard Zn (2 ¿M). T. caerulescens plants were also exposed to Zn-deficiency (0.05 ¿M Zn), but as this is a Zn hyperaccumulator species, also to high Zn (1,000 ¿M Zn). Plants were compared to plants grown on standard Zn media (100 ¿M Zn). Both A. thaliana and T. caerulescens were found to be heavily affected by Zn deficiency, showing similar retarded growth and reduced reproduction phenotypes, and even less reduction in biomass production in T. caerulescens than in A. thaliana. T. caerulescens plants were similarly affected when grown on high Zn concentrations, with comparable effects on reproductive tissues as seen on low Zn supply