title: Nitrogen control of developmental phase transitions in Arabidopsis thaliana.
abstract: Nitrogen (N) is an essential macronutrient and a key structural component of macromolecules in plants. N nutrients and metabolites can act as signals that impact on many aspects of plant biology. The plant life cycle involves a series of developmental phase transitions that must be tightly coordinated to external and internal cues in order to ensure plant survival and reproduction. N availability is one of the factors controlling phase changes. In this review, we integrate and summarize the known effects of N over different developmental stages in plants. Substantial advances have been made in our understanding of signalling and N-responsive gene regulatory networks. We focus on the molecular mechanisms underlying N regulation of developmental transitions and the role of putative new regulators that might link N availability to pathways controlling Arabidopsis growth and development from seed germination through the plant reproductive transition.
authors.affiliation: FONDAP Center for Genome Regulation, Millennium Nucleus Center for Plant Functional Genomics, Departamento de Genética Molecular y Microbiología, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile rgutierrez@bio.puc.cl eavidal@uc.cl.
authors.forename: Elena A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Vidal
authors.affiliation: FONDAP Center for Genome Regulation, Millennium Nucleus Center for Plant Functional Genomics, Departamento de Genética Molecular y Microbiología, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: Tomás C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Moyano
authors.affiliation: FONDAP Center for Genome Regulation, Millennium Nucleus Center for Plant Functional Genomics, Departamento de Genética Molecular y Microbiología, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Canales
authors.affiliation: FONDAP Center for Genome Regulation, Millennium Nucleus Center for Plant Functional Genomics, Departamento de Genética Molecular y Microbiología, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile rgutierrez@bio.puc.cl eavidal@uc.cl.
authors.forename: Rodrigo A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Gutiérrez
mesh_terms: D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D053263:Gene Regulatory Networks; D018525:Germination; D008018:Life Cycle Stages; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics*; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000378:metabolism*; D044367:Phase Transition; D012639:Seeds / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D035683:MicroRNAs; D009584:Nitrogen
keywords: Development; gene regulatory networks; microRNA; nitrate; nitrogen; phase transition; signaling.