Antibiotics are produced by microbes in the soil and can slow the growth of plants. For example, kanamycin, which is an aminoglycoside, affects cells by binding to ribosomes and inhibiting translocation. Atwbc19 is a gene in Arabidopsis plants that has been known to mitigate the effects of antibiotics. Mutation of Atwbc19 reduces zinc uptake. In addition, plant exposure to kanamycin reduces iron uptake. This leads us to propose a model of metal uptake as affected by metal levels, kanamycin and Atwbc19. Here, we specifically examine plant growth and metal uptake under high levels of iron in control and Atwbc19 mutant plants in the presence or absence of kanamycin. Arabidopsis plants were plated in MS media with or without kanamycin and were harvested after 7, 10, and 13 days, photographed, and analyzed for metal concentration. As expected, mutants were sensitive to kanamycin and had impaired root development.The results show that under high iron conditions, control plants showed limited decline in iron uptake but Atwbc19 mutants showed a drastic decline in iron uptake. These results corroborate the model whereby the combined effect of kanamycin exposure and Atwbc19 mutation results in drastic effects on iron uptake.
