a novel orphan peptide, IRON-REGULATED PROTEIN1 (IRP1) that is rapidly induced by Fe deficiency and improves growth on Fe-deplete media. In Arabidopsis, ectopic expression of IRP1 affected the activity of several genes involved in Fe acquisition and homeostasis, causing a dramatic increase of Fe in leaves and enhanced seed Fe loading. Heterologous expression of IRP1 in tomato plants resulted in increased Fe levels in fruits. Integration of AtIRP1 into the genome of crop plants may represent a novel strategy for Fe biofortification. Overall design: wild type Col-0 and transgenic overexpressor IRP1-OE plants were grown under normal conditions or subjected to and iron-starvation for 3 days. Roots and shoots were collected with 3 biological replicates.