Tag: Plant Nutrition

Wheat production demands huge inputs of nitrogen as fertilizer, with accompanying financial and environmental costs. Zorb et al. discuss several strategies by which to maintain wheat yields and wheat quality while decreasing N use and wastage. Some of these are agronomic, such as ensuring that the N…

Phosphate deficiency leads to arrest of primary root elongation. Previous work has shown that this arrest depends upon Fe, raising the possibility that Fe accumulation in the root apex is the cause of growth arrest. Several genes involved in low Pi response have been identified, including genes encoding…

(Translated from the Chinese  original http://news.hzau.edu.cn/2018/1101/52991.shtml) Nanhu News Network (Correspondent Sheng Ke) On October 30th, the research group of Professor Tian Xingming from the Rice Science Team of the National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement of our School…

Ammonium (NH4+) is an inorganic nitrogen source that is the preferred source for some plant species (e.g., rice and tea) but can be toxic in high amounts. The nitrate transporter NRT1.1 is involved in mediating the effects of toxic NH4+, as well as functioning in NO3- and auxin transport, NO3- signaling…

Zinc is an important micronutrient for plants and people. To better understand Zn uptake and homeostasis, Sinclair et al. used a transcriptomic approach to identify genes abnormally expressed in zinc-transporter mutants (hma2 hma4). In these mutants, Zn accumulates in roots but isn’t effectively transported…

Going grocery-shopping on an empty stomach is a bad idea. You’re bound to make poor decisions, not based on nutritional content of the food but based on temporary cravings that will leave you asking for more later. Plants face this nutritional puzzle every day, since they eat where they shop, and shop…

Kopittke et al. review the use of synchrotron-based X-ray fluorescence microscopy as a tool to quantify and localize diverse elements in plants. The authors describe how this method can be used to study nutrients in plants and human foods, as well as metal hyperaccumulating plants, and toxic metal(oid)…

Poitout et al. study how plants forage for nutrients in the soil https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.18.00011. By Arthur Poitout and Sandrine Ruffel Background: Nitrate, NO3- (the preferential nitrogen [N] source for most of higher plants) is spread unevenly in the soil due to its high mobile property,…