Research

HiFeed are continually striving to translate our scientific research into foods and supplements that can help people meet their nutritional iron needs. Our team focuses on identifying the genetic factors for iron accumulation in crop plants, optimising HiFe plant growth, and studying how plant iron sources are absorbed by humans.

We combine all this information to create science-based products that alleviate iron deficiency.
Our lab grows plants in fields, greenhouses and in hydroponic setups. We’re continually optimising our pea flour products for improved texture and iron bioavailability.

Our group also developed a method for purifying pea ferritin. Our goal is to develop products that support a circular economy by utilizing sustainable cultivation practises and achieving zero waste by using the whole plant for our products whenever possible.

As we launch our startup, we remain grounded in our origins as an academic research group! The Balk lab uses protein biochemistry, genetic and food science to understand iron metabolism and uptake in plants, and we apply this knowledge to improve iron availability in plant foods.

We have extensive experience with quantifying iron content, bioavailability and in characterizing the iron species present within food sources. We can also perform these methods as a service, and have worked with companies in the past to help them understand the nutritional value of their products. If you would like us to do this for you, please get in touch via our Enquiries page!

Relevant publications:

Research on iron in pea:

  • Harrington, S.A., Franceschetti, M. and Balk, J., 2024. Genetic basis of the historical iron‐accumulating dgl and brz mutants in pea. The Plant Journal, 117(2), pp.590-598.
  • Robinson, G.H.J., Balk, J. and Domoney, C., 2019. Improving pulse crops as a source of protein, starch and micronutrients. Nutrition bulletin, 44(3), pp.202-215.
  • Perfecto, A., Rodriguez-Ramiro, I., Rodriguez-Celma, J., Sharp, P., Balk, J. and Fairweather-Tait, S., 2018. Pea ferritin stability under gastric pH conditions determines the mechanism of iron uptake in Caco-2 cells. The Journal of Nutrition, 148(8), pp.1229-1235.
  • Moore, K.L., Rodríguez-Ramiro, I., Jones, E.R., Jones, E.J., Rodríguez-Celma, J., Halsey, K., Domoney, C., Shewry, P.R., Fairweather-Tait, S. and Balk, J., 2018. The stage of seed development influences iron bioavailability in pea (Pisum sativum L.). Scientific reports, 8(1), p.6865.

General reviews on plant-based iron nutrition:

  • Balk, J., von Wirén, N. and Thomine, S., 2021. The iron will of the research community: Advances in iron nutrition and interactions in lockdown times. Journal of Experimental Botany, 72(6), pp.2011-2013.
  • Connorton, J.M. and Balk, J., 2019. Iron biofortification of staple crops: lessons and challenges in plant genetics. Plant and Cell Physiology, 60(7), pp.1447-1456.
  • Connorton, J.M. and Balk, J., 2019. Iron biofortification of staple crops: lessons and challenges in plant genetics. Plant and Cell Physiology, 60(7), pp.1447-1456.

Iron metabolism in plants:

  • Stanton, C., Rodríguez-Celma, J., Krämer, U., Sanders, D. and Balk, J., 2023. BRUTUS-LIKE (BTSL) E3 ligase-mediated fine-tuning of Fe regulation negatively affects Zn tolerance of Arabidopsis. Journal of Experimental Botany, 74(18), pp.5767-5782.
  • Sheraz, S., Wan, Y., Venter, E., Verma, S.K., Xiong, Q., Waites, J., Connorton, J.M., Shewry, P.R., Moore, K.L. and Balk, J., 2021. Subcellular dynamics studies of iron reveal how tissue‐specific distribution patterns are established in developing wheat grains. New Phytologist, 231(4), pp.1644-1657.
  • Rodríguez-Celma, J., Connorton, J.M., Kruse, I., Green, R.T., Franceschetti, M., Chen, Y.T., Cui, Y., Ling, H.Q., Yeh, K.C. and Balk, J., 2019. Arabidopsis BRUTUS-LIKE E3 ligases negatively regulate iron uptake by targeting transcription factor FIT for recycling. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(35), pp.17584-17591.
  • Rodríguez-Celma, J., Chou, H., Kobayashi, T., Long, T.A. and Balk, J., 2019. Hemerythrin E3 ubiquitin ligases as negative regulators of iron homeostasis in plants. Frontiers in Plant Science, 10, p.98.
  • Bastow, E.L., Garcia de la Torre, V.S., Maclean, A.E., Green, R.T., Merlot, S., Thomine, S. and Balk, J., 2018. Vacuolar iron stores gated by NRAMP3 and NRAMP4 are the primary source of iron in germinating seeds. Plant Physiology, 177(3), pp.1267-1276.
  • Connorton, J.M., Balk, J. and Rodríguez-Celma, J., 2017. Iron homeostasis in plants–a brief overview. Metallomics, 9(7), pp.813-823.
  • Kaur, G., Meena, V., Kumar, A., Suman, G., Tyagi, D., Joon, R., Balk, J. and Pandey, A.K., 2023. Asymmetric expression of homoeologous genes in wheat roots modulates the early phase of iron-deficiency signalling. Environmental and Experimental Botany, 208, p.105254.
  • Connorton, J.M., Jones, E.R., Rodríguez-Ramiro, I., Fairweather-Tait, S., Uauy, C. and Balk, J., 2017. Wheat vacuolar iron transporter TaVIT2 transports Fe and Mn and is effective for biofortification. Plant physiology, 174(4), pp.2434-2444.
  • Connorton, J.M., Jones, E.R., Rodríguez-Ramiro, I., Fairweather-Tait, S., Uauy, C. and Balk, J., 2017. Altering expression of a vacuolar iron transporter doubles iron content in white wheat flour. bioRxiv, p.131888.