title: Genome-wide identification, classification and transcriptional analysis of nitrate and ammonium transporters in Coffea.
abstract: Nitrogen (N) is quantitatively the main nutrient required by coffee plants, with acquisition mainly by the roots and mostly exported to coffee beans. Nitrate (NO3-) and ammonium (NH4+) are the most important inorganic sources for N uptake. Several N transporters encoded by different gene families mediate the uptake of these compounds. They have an important role in source preference for N uptake in the root system. In this study, we performed a genome-wide analysis, including in silico expression and phylogenetic analyses of AMT1, AMT2, NRT1/PTR, and NRT2 transporters in the recently sequenced Coffea canephora genome. We analyzed the expression of six selected transporters in Coffea arabica roots submitted to N deficiency. N source preference was also analyzed in C. arabica using isotopes. C. canephora N transporters follow the patterns observed for most eudicots, where each member of the AMT and NRT families has a particular role in N mobilization, and where some of these are modulated by N deficiency. Despite the prevalence of putative nitrate transporters in the Coffea genome, ammonium was the preferential inorganic N source for N-starved C. arabica roots. This data provides an important basis for fundamental and applied studies to depict molecular mechanisms involved in N uptake in coffee trees.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Biotecnologia Vegetal, Instituto Agronômico do Paraná, Londrina, PR, Brazil.|Programa de pós-graduação em Agronomia, Universidade do Oeste Paulista (UNOESTE), Presidente Prudente, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Tiago Benedito Dos
authors.initials: TB
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Botânica, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.|Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura (CENA), Escola Superior de Agricultura "Luiz de Queiroz" (ESALQ), Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Piracicaba. SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Joni Esrom
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Lima
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Biotecnologia Vegetal, Instituto Agronômico do Paraná, Londrina, PR, Brazil.
authors.forename: Mariane Silva
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Felicio
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Biotecnologia Vegetal, Instituto Agronômico do Paraná, Londrina, PR, Brazil.
authors.forename: João Danillo Moura
authors.initials: JDM
authors.lastname: Soares
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Biotecnologia Vegetal, Instituto Agronômico do Paraná, Londrina, PR, Brazil.|Departamento de Botânica, Instituto de Biociências de Rio Claro, Universidade Estadual Paulista "Júlio Mesquita Filho" (UNESP), Rio Claro, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Douglas Silva
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Domingues