Iron plays an important role for plant growth and development. In Arabidopsis thaliana, the Ferric Chelate Reductase Defective 3 (FRD3) gene plays an essential role in the uptake of iron. FRD3 transports citrate into the xylem, which form a complex with iron and enable its transport over long distances. We hypothesize that FRD3 transports the antibiotic kanamycin and when plants are exposed to kanamycin, FRD3 is inhibited such that plants are protected from the negative effects of the antibiotic. This may result in limited kanamycin transport and also in limited citrate and iron transport. Based on our hypothesis we expect that Wild Type(WT) plants grown on the MS media with 50 ul of citrate and the absence of kanamycin will develop longer roots, appear greener and show a higher level of iron content compared to frd3 mutant plants. In the presence of kanamycin, we expect to see no difference in the frd3 mutant and WT seeds. Results support our hypothesis as WT plants exhibited an overall healthier appearance with longer roots and a deep green color compared to frd3 mutants when not exposed to kanamycin. When kanamycin was present, fewer differences were observed in the overall appearance of WT and frd3 mutants.
