Nitrate assimilation in suspension cultures of Paul's scarlet rose

1980 ◽  
Vol 58 (9) ◽  
pp. 1088-1094 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas B. Jordan ◽  
John S. Fletcher

Nitrate reductase activity, the assimilation of NO3−, and growth were studied in suspension cultures of Rosa cv. Paul's Scarlet grown in media with either 24 mM NO3−,or with 24 mM NO3− + 0.91 mM NH4+.Ammonium partially repressed the development of nitrate reductase during the first 4 days of growth and the degree of repression was more pronounced when cells were provided with lower concentrations of NO3−. The repression of nitrate reductase by NH4+ was only observed when casein was used during enzyme extraction. The repression of nitrate reductase activity by NH4+ was not recognized in earlier work when no casein was used.The presence of casein in the extraction or assay medium increased the total recoverable nitrate reductase activity. The enhancement was differential depending on cell age with the greatest influence being on young and old cells where 100 and 400% enhancements were observed, respectively.In vitro nitrate reductase activity correlated well with NO3− assimilation. Over 14 days of growth, the ratio of total nitrate reductase activity to the total amount of NO3− reduced was 3.8 for cultures grown with or without NH4+. Cultures grown with NH4+ achieved 80% more fresh weight and reduced 70% more NO3− over 14 days than cultures grown without NH4+.

1983 ◽  
Vol 38 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 439-445 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emilio Fernández ◽  
Jacobo Cárdenas

Nitrate reductase from mutant 305 of Chlamydomonas reinhardii has been purified about 90-fold and biochemically characterized. The enzyme can use reduced flavins and viologens as electron donors to reduce nitrate but, unlike the nitrate reductase complex from its parental wild strain, lacks NAD(P)H-nitrate reductase and NAD(P)H-cytochrome c reductase activities, does not bind to Blue-Agarose or Blue-Sepharose and exhibits a significantly lower molecular weight (177.000 vs. 241.000), whereas its kinetic characteristics and its sensitivity against several inhibitors and treatments are very similar to those of the terminal nitrate reductase activity of the wild strain complex. Spectral studies and antagonistic experiments with tungstate show the presence of cytochrome b557 and molybdenum. These facts lead us to propose that nitrate reductase from mutant 305 has a protein deletion which affects the pyridine nucleotide binding region of the diaphorase protein but without any effect on the terminal nitrate reductase activity.


1992 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 375-380 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.G. Tjoelker ◽  
S.B. McLaughlin ◽  
R.J. DiCosty ◽  
S.E. Lindberg ◽  
R.J. Norby

To assess seasonal and site variation in foliar nitrate reductase activity and its utility as a biochemical marker for the uptake of nitrogen oxide pollutants in high-elevation forests, we measured nitrate reductase activity in current-year needles of red spruce (Picearubens Sarg.) saplings at two high-elevation stands (1935 and 1720 m) in the Great Smoky Mountains, North Carolina. Measurements spanned two growing seasons between September 1987 and September 1988. Nitrate reductase activity peaked near 60 nmol•g−1•h−1 at both sites in September and October 1987 and August 1988 and declined 80% in November 1987 and 65% in September 1988. Although nitrate reductase activity was 30% greater in saplings at the higher site relative to the lower site in September and October 1987, activity dropped to approximately 10 nmol•g−1•h−1 at both sites in November 1987. No differences among sites were evident the following year. Comparing deposition of nitric acid vapor at a nearby site to nitrate reductase activity suggests that needle nitrate reductase activity is not an unequivocal marker for foliar uptake of nitrogen oxides during air pollutant episodes. The changes in soil nitrate levels in this system provide preliminary evidence that foliar nitrate assimilation may, in part, include nitrate taken up from the soil, as the highest activity occurred during periods of higher A-horizon nitrate concentrations in 1988. These measurements of nitrate reductase activity suggest that red spruce are capable of assimilating nitrate in foliage in the field and that the nitrate assimilation capacity varies throughout the year.


HortScience ◽  
1990 ◽  
Vol 25 (9) ◽  
pp. 1152b-1152
Author(s):  
Linda Gaudreau ◽  
Josée Charbonneau ◽  
Louis-P. Vézina ◽  
André Gosselin

Two cultivars (Karlo and Rosanna) of greenhouse lettuce were grown under different photosynthetic photon fluxes (PPF) and photoperiods provided by 400-W high–pressure sodium lamps. Natural light was compared to suppletmental lighting treatments providing either 50 or 100 μmol m-2-s-1 for photoperiods of 16, 20 or 24 h. Lettuce plants were grown in hydroponic gulleys using a standard nutrient solution. Plant fresh weights were measured every week for the duration of each culture grown between August 1989 and June 1990. The incidence of tipburn and the overall quality of the shoots were determined at the end of each crop. Leaf nitrate contents and nitrate reductase activity were measured for various lighting treatments. The highest fresh weight was obtained for the highest PPF and the longest photoperiod. However, these treatments were associated with a higher incidence of tipburn. Supplemental lighting reduced the leaf nitrate contents and affected the nitrate reductase activity.


Planta ◽  
1978 ◽  
Vol 141 (2) ◽  
pp. 183-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. W. Jones ◽  
A. J. Abbott ◽  
E. J. Hewitt ◽  
G. R. Best ◽  
E. F. Watson

1977 ◽  
Vol 4 (5) ◽  
pp. 811 ◽  
Author(s):  
JW Radin

Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) is a species in which most nitrate is assimilated in the green shoot. A physiological role for the small amount of nitrate reductase activity in the roots can be questioned on the basis of relative magnitude. In this investigation, cotton plants were grown on nutrient solutions containing either 1 or 5 mM nitrate, and balance sheets were developed for the transport and metabolism of nitrate and reduced nitrogen in the root and shoot during exponential growth. At either nitrate level, assimilation in the roots was adequate to supply all the nitrogen for root growth. However, some of the reduced nitrogen was exported in the xylem, leaving a net deficit of about 10% at 1 mM nitrate and 36% at 5 mM nitrate. This deficit was presumably satisfied by reduced nitrogen from the shoot. Thus, at these two nitrate concentrations, root growth apparently depended more upon nitrogen assimilated in the roots themselves than upon nitrogen from the shoot. The different fates of nitrogen assimilated in the root and in the shoot may be related to the demonstrated differential regulation of nitrate reductase activity in these two sites.


2004 ◽  
Vol 61 (6) ◽  
pp. 640-648 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jairo Osvaldo Cazetta ◽  
Luciana Cristine Vasques Villela

Tanner grass (Brachiaria radicans Napper) is a forage plant that is adapted to well-drained soils or wetlands, and responds well to nitrogen (N) fertilization. The assimilation of N involves the nitrate reductase (NR) enzyme, and its activity seems to be dependent on N supply. Molybdenum (Mo) is also important because it is a cofactor of NR. In this study, the variables of an in vivo assay were optimized for measuring nitrate reductase activity (NRA) in the leaves and stem tissues. This method was used to evaluate NO3- metabolism in plants fertilized with NaNO3, NH4Cl or urea, in association with or without application of H2MoO4, aiming to provide guidelines for N management of this species. The best conditions to determine NRA involved the incubation of 300 mg of tissues in a medium composed of 200 mmol dm3 phosphate buffer (pH 7.4), 60 mmol dm3 KNO3, 10 cm³ dm3 n-butanol, 0.1 cm³ dm3 detergent (triton-X-100®), under vacuum and in the dark for a period of 60 to 100 minutes. Leaves showed NRA levels two to three times higher than stems. Although there were some interactions between treatments, stem fresh weight and NRA were not affected by N sources. Plants fertilized with NaNO3 showed the best growth and NRA values when compared with NH4Cl and urea, which had, respectively, the lowest and intermediate scores. The application of Mo in the absence of N improved NRA and did not affect leaf and stalk growth. In the presence of N, the Mo levels applied limited leaf NRA and plant development.


2017 ◽  
Vol 474 (11) ◽  
pp. 1769-1787 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victor M. Luque-Almagro ◽  
Isabel Manso ◽  
Matthew J. Sullivan ◽  
Gary Rowley ◽  
Stuart J. Ferguson ◽  
...  

Transcriptional adaptation to nitrate-dependent anabolism by Paracoccus denitrificans PD1222 was studied. A total of 74 genes were induced in cells grown with nitrate as N-source compared with ammonium, including nasTSABGHC and ntrBC genes. The nasT and nasS genes were cotranscribed, although nasT was more strongly induced by nitrate than nasS. The nasABGHC genes constituted a transcriptional unit, which is preceded by a non-coding region containing hairpin structures involved in transcription termination. The nasTS and nasABGHC transcripts were detected at similar levels with nitrate or glutamate as N-source, but nasABGHC transcript was undetectable in ammonium-grown cells. The nitrite reductase NasG subunit was detected by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in cytoplasmic fractions from nitrate-grown cells, but it was not observed when either ammonium or glutamate was used as the N-source. The nasT mutant lacked both nasABGHC transcript and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH)-dependent nitrate reductase activity. On the contrary, the nasS mutant showed similar levels of the nasABGHC transcript to the wild-type strain and displayed NasG protein and NADH–nitrate reductase activity with all N-sources tested, except with ammonium. Ammonium repression of nasABGHC was dependent on the Ntr system. The ntrBC and ntrYX genes were expressed at low levels regardless of the nitrogen source supporting growth. Mutational analysis of the ntrBCYX genes indicated that while ntrBC genes are required for nitrate assimilation, ntrYX genes can only partially restore growth on nitrate in the absence of ntrBC genes. The existence of a regulation mechanism for nitrate assimilation in P. denitrificans, by which nitrate induction operates at both transcriptional and translational levels, is proposed.


HortScience ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 664a-664
Author(s):  
Donald J. Merhaut ◽  
Rebecca L. Darnell

Commercial blueberry production is limited primarily to soils where ammonium, rather than nitrate, is the predominant N form. However, Vaccinium arboreum, a species native to northern Florida, often is found growing in soils where nitrate is the major N form. This species may serve as a breeding source or rootstock for commercial blueberries, expanding the potential soil types that may be used for blueberry cultivation. In our study, in vivo nitrate reductase activity (NRA) was measured in roots and leaves of 2-year-old seedlings of V. arboreum and a commercial cultivar, V. corymbosum `Sharpblue'. Plants were grown hydroponically in sand culture and fertilized with a modified Hoagland's solution containing N as either ammonium, ammonium nitrate, or nitrate. Vaccinium arboreum averaged nitrite at 200, 60, and 20 nmol/g fresh weight per h for nitrate, ammonium nitrate, and ammonium fertilized plants, respectively. `Sharpblue' root NRA was significantly lower, averaging nitrite 50, 38, and 8 nmol/g fresh weight per h for nitrate, ammonium nitrate, and ammonium fertilized plants, respectively. NRA was much lower in leaves than roots of V. arboreum, averaging nitrite at ≈15 nmol nmol/g fresh weight per h across N treatments. No NRA was detected in the leaves of `Sharpblue', regardless of N treatment. These data suggest that V. arboreum may be used as a rootstock or breeding source to expand blueberry production into soil types that are higher in nitrate than the soils typically used for blueberry production.


2004 ◽  
Vol 186 (7) ◽  
pp. 2107-2114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shin-ichi Maeda ◽  
Tatsuo Omata

ABSTRACT A new class of mutants deficient in nitrate assimilation was obtained from the cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus strain PCC7942 by means of random insertional mutagenesis. A 0.5-kb genomic region had been replaced by a kanamycin resistance gene cassette in the mutant, resulting in inactivation of two genes, one of which was homologous to the recently characterized cnaT gene of Anabaena sp. strain PCC7120 (J. E. Frías, A. Herrero, and E. Flores, J. Bacteriol. 185:5037-5044, 2003). While insertional mutation of the cnaT homolog did not affect expression of the nitrate assimilation operon or the activity of the nitrate assimilation enzymes in S. elongatus, inactivation of the other gene, designated narM, resulted in specific loss of the cellular nitrate reductase activity. The deduced NarM protein is a hydrophilic protein consisting of 161 amino acids. narM was expressed constitutively at a low level. The narM gene has its homolog only in the cyanobacterial strains that are capable of nitrate assimilation. In most of the cyanobacterial strains, narM is located downstream of narB, the structural gene of the cyanobacterial nitrate reductase, suggesting the functional link between the two genes. NarM is clearly not the structural component of the cyanobacterial nitrate reductase. The narM insertional mutant normally expressed narB, indicating that narM is not the transcriptional regulator of the structural gene of nitrate reductase. These results suggested that narM is required for either synthesis of the prosthetic group of nitrate reductase or assembly of the prosthetic groups to the NarB polypeptide to form functional nitrate reductase in cyanobacteria.


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