New insight into the strategy for nitrogen metabolism in plant cells.
Nitrogen (N) is one of the most important mineral nutrients required by higher plants. Primary N absorbed by higher plants includes nitrate (NO3(-)), ammonium (NH4(+)), and organic N. Plants have developed several mechanisms for regulating their N metabolism in response to N availability and environmental conditions. Numerous transporters have been characterized and the mode of N movement within plants has been demonstrated. For further assimilation of N, various enzymes are involved in the key processes of NO3(-) or NH4(+) assimilation. N and carbon (C) metabolism are tightly coordinated in the fundamental biochemical pathway that permits plant growth. As N and C metabolism are the fundamental constituents of plant life, understanding N regulation is essential for growing plants and improving crop production. Regulation of N metabolism at the transcriptional and posttranscriptional levels provides important perceptions in the complex regulatory network of plants to adapt to changing N availability. In this chapter, recent advances in elucidating molecular mechanisms of N metabolism processes and regulation strategy, as well as interactions between C and N, are discussed. This review provides new insights into the strategy for studying N metabolism at the cellular level for optimum plant growth in different environments.
['Wang|Min|M|', 'Shen|Qirong|Q|', 'Xu|Guohua|G|', 'Guo|Shiwei|S|']
D000641:Ammonia D064751:Ammonium Compounds D002244:Carbon D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant D017343:Genes, Plant D018745:Genome, Plant D006801:Humans D009566:Nitrates D009584:Nitrogen D010101:Oxygen Consumption D018521:Plant Physiological Phenomena D010944:Plants D011499:Protein Processing, Post-Translational D014508:Urea
Nitrogen metabolism Carbon metabolism Nitrogen transporter Plant enzymes