title: Nitrate sensing and signaling in plants.
abstract: Nitrate (NO(3)(-)) is a major nutrient for plants, taken up by their roots from the soil. Plants are able to sense NO(3)(-) in their environment, allowing them to quickly respond to the dramatic fluctuations of its availability. Significant advances have been made during the recent period concerning the molecular mechanisms of NO(3)(-) sensing and signaling in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. The striking action of NO(3)(-) as a signal regulating genome expression has been unraveled. Note worthily, NO(3)(-) sensing systems have been identified. These correspond to membrane transporters also ensuring the uptake of NO(3)(-) into root cells, thus generalizing the nutrient 'transceptor' (transporter/receptor) concept defined in yeast. Furthermore, components of the downstream transduction cascades, such as transcription factors or kinases, have also been isolated. A breakthrough arising from this improved knowledge is a better understanding of the integration of NO(3)(-) and hormone signaling pathways, that explains the extraordinary developmental plasticity of plants in response to NO(3)(-).
authors.affiliation: Biochimie et Physiologie Moléculaire des Plantes, UMR 5004 CNRS/INRA/SupAgro-M/UM2, Institut de Biologie Intégrative des Plantes-Claude Grignon, Place Viala, 34060 Montpellier Cedex 1, France.
authors.forename: Eléonore
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bouguyon
authors.forename: Alain
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gojon
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nacry
mesh_terms: D027321:Anion Transport Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000378:metabolism; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D007210:Indoleacetic Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D009566:Nitrates / Q000378:metabolism*; D063245:Plant Development; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D010944:Plants / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D027321:Anion Transport Proteins; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D007210:Indoleacetic Acids; D009566:Nitrates; D010940:Plant Proteins; C101492:NRT1.1 protein, Arabidopsis; C477335:NRT2.1 protein, Arabidopsis