title: New insight into the strategy for nitrogen metabolism in plant cells.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Key Lab of Plant Nutrition and Fertilization in Low-Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River, Agricultural Ministry, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China; Jiangsu Key Lab and Engineering Center for Solid Organic Waste Utilization, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China.
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Lab of Plant Nutrition and Fertilization in Low-Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River, Agricultural Ministry, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China; Jiangsu Key Lab and Engineering Center for Solid Organic Waste Utilization, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China.
authors.forename: Qirong
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Key Lab of Plant Nutrition and Fertilization in Low-Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River, Agricultural Ministry, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China; Jiangsu Key Lab and Engineering Center for Solid Organic Waste Utilization, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China.
authors.forename: Guohua
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Key Lab of Plant Nutrition and Fertilization in Low-Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River, Agricultural Ministry, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China; Jiangsu Key Lab and Engineering Center for Solid Organic Waste Utilization, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China. Electronic address: sguo@njau.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Shiwei
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Guo
mesh_terms: D000641:Ammonia / Q000737:chemistry; D064751:Ammonium Compounds / Q000737:chemistry; D002244:Carbon / Q000378:metabolism; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D017343:Genes, Plant; D018745:Genome, Plant; D006801:Humans; D009566:Nitrates / Q000737:chemistry; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D010101:Oxygen Consumption; D018521:Plant Physiological Phenomena; D010944:Plants / Q000378:metabolism*; D011499:Protein Processing, Post-Translational; D014508:Urea / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D064751:Ammonium Compounds; D009566:Nitrates; D002244:Carbon; D000641:Ammonia; D014508:Urea; D009584:Nitrogen
keywords: Carbon metabolism; Nitrogen metabolism; Nitrogen transporter; Plant enzymes