# Tiny nutrient, big mystery: Key gene reveals how cereal crops transport nickel

Source: [Biology News - Evolution, Cell theory, Gene theory, Microbiology, Biotechnology](https://phys.org/news/2026-11-tiny-nutrient-big-mystery-key.html) · 2026-11-10 · Life
Page: https://themorning.science/story/tiny-nutrient-big-mystery-key-gene-reveals-how-cereal-crops-transport-nickel-4a93e760e79c0399
Kind: research · Impact: medium

## In brief

- Researchers identified a maize gene, ZmNAET1, that controls nickel accumulation in the plant.
- The gene encodes a nicotianamine efflux transporter localized in the node phloem that regulates nickel delivery to sink organs, including seeds.
- In seeds, nickel-dependent urease activity promotes amino acid metabolism, suggesting a role for nickel in yield formation of graminaceous plants.

## Why it matters

Long-distance transport of nickel from stems and leaves to grains was poorly understood for more than 50 years, and the findings point to a previously unappreciated link between nickel and cereal yield.

## Timeline

- 2026-11-10: Study describing the ZmNAET1 nickel transporter in maize published in Cell

## Coverage

- [Tiny nutrient, big mystery: Key gene reveals how cereal crops transport nickel](https://phys.org/news/2026-11-tiny-nutrient-big-mystery-key.html) — Biology News - Evolution, Cell theory, Gene theory, Microbiology, Biotechnology, 2026-11-10
- [Nicotianamine-driven nickel transport to sink organs underpins maize productivity](https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(26)01285-7?rss=yes) — cell.com, 2026-11-10

Tags: nickel, maize, plant nutrition, nutrient transport, crop yield

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Brief generated by AI (claude-haiku-5-5) from the reporting listed under Coverage. Headlines belong to their publishers. The Morning Science – https://themorning.science