Plant Nitrogen Metabolism

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2016) | Viewed by 49809

Special Issue Editor

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Nitrogen (N) is the mineral element required in the greatest amount by plants, and often represents a limiting factor for growth. Molecular factors involved in N fluxes (external uptake, intra- and inter-cellular movement), as well as N storage and assimilation, play crucial roles in the efficiency of plant growth and development. In addition, a new field of research recently contributed to the elucidation of signaling pathways providing cross-talk between nitrogen demands and plant developmental programs to guarantee a more efficient response to changes in N availability. Research contributions on these and other topics will be highlighted in this Special Issue, entitled “Plant Nitrogen Metabolism”.

Dr. Maurizio Chiurazzi
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • assimilation
  • transport
  • development
  • signaling
  • root architecture
  • C/N balance
  • N demand

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

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1727 KiB  
Article
An In Vitro Procedure for Phenotypic Screening of Growth Parameters and Symbiotic Performances in Lotus corniculatus Cultivars Maintained in Different Nutritional Conditions
by Vladimir Totev Valkov and Maurizio Chiurazzi
Plants 2016, 5(4), 40; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants5040040 - 13 Oct 2016
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 4731
Abstract
The establishment of legumes crops with phenotypic traits that favour their persistence and competitiveness in mixed swards is a pressing task in sustainable agriculture. However, to fully exploit the potential benefits of introducing pasture-based grass-legume systems, an increased scientific knowledge of legume agronomy [...] Read more.
The establishment of legumes crops with phenotypic traits that favour their persistence and competitiveness in mixed swards is a pressing task in sustainable agriculture. However, to fully exploit the potential benefits of introducing pasture-based grass-legume systems, an increased scientific knowledge of legume agronomy for screening of favourable traits is needed. We exploited a short-cut phenotypic screening as a preliminary step to characterize the growth capacity of three different Lotus corniculatus cvs cultivated in different nutritional conditions as well as the evaluation of their nodulation capacities. This experimental scheme, developed for legume species amenable to grow on agar plates conditions, may represent a very preliminary step to achieve phenotypic discrimination on different cultivars. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Nitrogen Metabolism)
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1362 KiB  
Article
Potential Pasture Nitrogen Concentrations and Uptake from Autumn or Spring Applied Cow Urine and DCD under Field Conditions
by Jim Moir, Keith Cameron and Hong Di
Plants 2016, 5(2), 26; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants5020026 - 13 Jun 2016
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 4417
Abstract
Nitrogen (N) cycling and losses in grazed grassland are strongly driven by urine N deposition by grazing ruminants. The objective of this study was to quantify pasture N concentrations, yield and N uptake following autumn and spring deposition of cow urine and the [...] Read more.
Nitrogen (N) cycling and losses in grazed grassland are strongly driven by urine N deposition by grazing ruminants. The objective of this study was to quantify pasture N concentrations, yield and N uptake following autumn and spring deposition of cow urine and the effects of fine particle suspension (FPS) dicyandiamide (DCD). A field plot study was conducted on the Lincoln University dairy farm, Canterbury, New Zealand from May 2003 to May 2005. FPS DCD was applied to grazed pasture plots at 10 kg·ha−1 in autumn and spring in addition to applied cow urine at a N loading rate of 1000 kg·N·ha−1, with non-urine control plots. Pasture N ranged between 1.9 and 4.8% with higher concentrations from urine. Results indicated that urine consistently increased N concentrations for around 220 days post deposition (mid December/early summer) at which point concentrations dropped to background levels. In urine patches, pasture yield and annual N uptake were dramatically increased on average by 51% for autumn and 28% for spring applied urine, in both years, when DCD was applied. This field experiment provides strong evidence that annual pasture N uptake is more strongly influenced by high urine N deposition than pasture N concentrations. FPS DCD has the potential to result in very high N uptake in urine patches, even when they are autumn deposited. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Nitrogen Metabolism)
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884 KiB  
Article
Patterns of Growth Costs and Nitrogen Acquisition in Cytisus striatus (Hill) Rothm. and Cytisus balansae (Boiss.) Ball are Mediated by Sources of Inorganic N
by María Pérez-Fernández, Elena Calvo-Magro, Irene Ramírez-Rojas, Laura Moreno-Gallardo and Valentine Alexander
Plants 2016, 5(2), 20; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants5020020 - 16 Apr 2016
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 4283
Abstract
Nitrogen-fixing shrubby legumes in the Mediterranean area partly overcome nutrient limitations by making use of soil N and atmospheric N2 sources. Their ability to switch between different sources lets them adjust to the carbon costs pertaining to N acquisition throughout the year. [...] Read more.
Nitrogen-fixing shrubby legumes in the Mediterranean area partly overcome nutrient limitations by making use of soil N and atmospheric N2 sources. Their ability to switch between different sources lets them adjust to the carbon costs pertaining to N acquisition throughout the year. We investigated the utilization of different inorganic N sources by Cytisus balansae and Cytisus striatus, shrubby legumes under low and a sufficient (5 and 500 µM P, respectively) levels of P. Plants grew in sterile sand, supplied with N-free nutrient solution and inoculated with effective Bradyrhizobium strains; other treatments consisted of plants treated with (i) 500 µM NH4NO3; and (ii) 500 µM NH4NO3 and inoculation with effective rhizobial strains. The application of NH4NO3 always resulted in greater dry biomass production. Carbon construction costs were higher in plants that were supplied with mineral and symbiotic N sources and always greater in the endemic C. striatus. Photosynthetic rates were similar in plants treated with different sources of N although differences were observed between the two species. Non-fertilized inoculated plants showed a neat dependence on N2 fixation and had more effective root nodules. Results accounted for the distribution of the two species with regards to their ability to use different N sources. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Nitrogen Metabolism)
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632 KiB  
Article
Short-Term Response of Sasa Dwarf Bamboo to a Change of Soil Nitrogen Fertility in a Forest Ecosystem in Northern Hokkaido, Japan
by Tsunehiro Watanabe, Karibu Fukuzawa and Hideaki Shibata
Plants 2016, 5(2), 19; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants5020019 - 14 Apr 2016
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 5705
Abstract
In forest ecosystems, a change of soil nitrogen (N) cycling after disturbance is regulated by various factors. Sasa dwarf bamboo (hereafter referred to as Sasa) is an understory plant that grows thickly on the forest floor in northern Hokkaido, Japan. However, the ecosystem [...] Read more.
In forest ecosystems, a change of soil nitrogen (N) cycling after disturbance is regulated by various factors. Sasa dwarf bamboo (hereafter referred to as Sasa) is an understory plant that grows thickly on the forest floor in northern Hokkaido, Japan. However, the ecosystem function of Sasa after disturbances in the soil N cycling is not fully understood. The purpose of this study was to determine the short-term response of Sasa to a change of soil N fertility. Biomass, litterfall, litter decomposition, soil N pool, and N leaching from soil were measured in control, and low- (5 g N m−2 year−1) and high-N (15 g N m−2 year−1) addition plots. Sasa immobilized much N as the soil N fertility increased. However, the leaf N concentration in aboveground biomass did not increase, suggesting that the N in leaves was maintained because of the increase of leaf biomass. As a result, the decomposition and mineralization rates of the produced litter before and after N addition were comparable among plots, even though the soil inorganic N fertility increased greatly. These results suggest that immediate response of Sasa to an increase of soil inorganic N mitigates the excess N leaching from soil. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Nitrogen Metabolism)
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Review

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1421 KiB  
Review
Understanding Plant Nitrogen Metabolism through Metabolomics and Computational Approaches
by Perrin H. Beatty, Matthias S. Klein, Jeffrey J. Fischer, Ian A. Lewis, Douglas G. Muench and Allen G. Good
Plants 2016, 5(4), 39; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants5040039 - 10 Oct 2016
Cited by 39 | Viewed by 9108
Abstract
A comprehensive understanding of plant metabolism could provide a direct mechanism for improving nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) in crops. One of the major barriers to achieving this outcome is our poor understanding of the complex metabolic networks, physiological factors, and signaling mechanisms that [...] Read more.
A comprehensive understanding of plant metabolism could provide a direct mechanism for improving nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) in crops. One of the major barriers to achieving this outcome is our poor understanding of the complex metabolic networks, physiological factors, and signaling mechanisms that affect NUE in agricultural settings. However, an exciting collection of computational and experimental approaches has begun to elucidate whole-plant nitrogen usage and provides an avenue for connecting nitrogen-related phenotypes to genes. Herein, we describe how metabolomics, computational models of metabolism, and flux balance analysis have been harnessed to advance our understanding of plant nitrogen metabolism. We introduce a model describing the complex flow of nitrogen through crops in a real-world agricultural setting and describe how experimental metabolomics data, such as isotope labeling rates and analyses of nutrient uptake, can be used to refine these models. In summary, the metabolomics/computational approach offers an exciting mechanism for understanding NUE that may ultimately lead to more effective crop management and engineered plants with higher yields. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Nitrogen Metabolism)
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618 KiB  
Review
Reconfiguration of N Metabolism upon Hypoxia Stress and Recovery: Roles of Alanine Aminotransferase (AlaAT) and Glutamate Dehydrogenase (GDH)
by Houssein Diab and Anis M. Limami
Plants 2016, 5(2), 25; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants5020025 - 31 May 2016
Cited by 53 | Viewed by 11126
Abstract
In the context of climatic change, more heavy precipitation and more frequent flooding and waterlogging events threaten the productivity of arable farmland. Furthermore, crops were not selected to cope with flooding- and waterlogging-induced oxygen limitation. In general, low oxygen stress, unlike other abiotic [...] Read more.
In the context of climatic change, more heavy precipitation and more frequent flooding and waterlogging events threaten the productivity of arable farmland. Furthermore, crops were not selected to cope with flooding- and waterlogging-induced oxygen limitation. In general, low oxygen stress, unlike other abiotic stresses (e.g., cold, high temperature, drought and saline stress), received little interest from the scientific community and less financial support from stakeholders. Accordingly, breeding programs should be developed and agronomical practices should be adapted in order to save plants’ growth and yield—even under conditions of low oxygen availability (e.g., submergence and waterlogging). The prerequisite to the success of such breeding programs and changes in agronomical practices is a good knowledge of how plants adapt to low oxygen stress at the cellular and the whole plant level. In the present paper, we summarized the recent knowledge on metabolic adjustment in general under low oxygen stress and highlighted thereafter the major changes pertaining to the reconfiguration of amino acids syntheses. We propose a model showing (i) how pyruvate derived from active glycolysis upon hypoxia is competitively used by the alanine aminotransferase/glutamate synthase cycle, leading to alanine accumulation and NAD+ regeneration. Carbon is then saved in a nitrogen store instead of being lost through ethanol fermentative pathway. (ii) During the post-hypoxia recovery period, the alanine aminotransferase/glutamate dehydrogenase cycle mobilizes this carbon from alanine store. Pyruvate produced by the reverse reaction of alanine aminotransferase is funneled to the TCA cycle, while deaminating glutamate dehydrogenase regenerates, reducing equivalent (NADH) and 2-oxoglutarate to maintain the cycle function. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Nitrogen Metabolism)
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2572 KiB  
Review
Nitrogen Assimilation, Abiotic Stress and Glucose 6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase: The Full Circle of Reductants
by Sergio Esposito
Plants 2016, 5(2), 24; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants5020024 - 11 May 2016
Cited by 57 | Viewed by 9558
Abstract
Glucose 6 phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH; EC 1.1.1.49) is well-known as the main regulatory enzyme of the oxidative pentose phosphate pathway (OPPP) in living organisms. Namely, in Planta, different G6PDH isoforms may occur, generally localized in cytosol and plastids/chloroplasts. These enzymes are differently regulated [...] Read more.
Glucose 6 phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH; EC 1.1.1.49) is well-known as the main regulatory enzyme of the oxidative pentose phosphate pathway (OPPP) in living organisms. Namely, in Planta, different G6PDH isoforms may occur, generally localized in cytosol and plastids/chloroplasts. These enzymes are differently regulated by distinct mechanisms, still far from being defined in detail. In the last decades, a pivotal function for plant G6PDHs during the assimilation of nitrogen, providing reductants for enzymes involved in nitrate reduction and ammonium assimilation, has been described. More recently, several studies have suggested a main role of G6PDH to counteract different stress conditions, among these salinity and drought, with the involvement of an ABA depending signal. In the last few years, this recognized vision has been greatly widened, due to studies clearly showing the non-conventional subcellular localization of the different G6PDHs, and the peculiar regulation of the different isoforms. The whole body of these considerations suggests a central question: how do the plant cells distribute the reductants coming from G6PDH and balance their equilibrium? This review explores the present knowledge about these mechanisms, in order to propose a scheme of distribution of reductants produced by G6PDH during nitrogen assimilation and stress. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Nitrogen Metabolism)
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