Abstract Background Zinc (Zn) and iron (Fe) are essential micronutrients for plant growth
and development, their deficiency or excess severely impaired physiological and
biochemical reactions of plants. Therefore, a tightly controlled zinc and iron uptake and
homeostasis network has been evolved in plants. The Zinc-regulated transporters, Iron-
regulated transporter-like Proteins (ZIP) are capable of uptaking and transporting divalent
metal ion and are suggested to play critical roles in balancing metal uptake and …