Plant ionomics: From elemental profiling to environmental adaptation

Ionomics is a high throughput elemental profiling approach to study the molecular mechanistic basis underlying mineral nutrient and trace element composition (aka ionome) of living organisms. Since the concept of ionomics was first introduced more than ten years ago, significant progress has been made in the identification of genes and gene networks that control the ionome. In this update, we summarise the progress made in using the ionomics approach over the last decade, including the identification of genes by forward genetics and the study of natural ionomic variation. We further discuss the potential application of ionomics to investigate the ecological functions of ionomic alleles in adaptation to the environment.