The function of nitrate transporters NRT1 in plants
Warzybok, A.; Migock, M.
Postepy Biochemii 58(1): 61-68
2012
ISSN/ISBN: 0032-5422 PMID: 23214130 Document Number: 657732
Nitrate is the main source of inorganic nitrogen for plants grown in aerobic soil conditions. The growth and development of many species, including cultivated crops is strictly dependent on the effective processes of nitrate uptake, its accumulation and remobilization within the plant tissues under frequent fluctuations of NO3(-) level in soil. The proteins engaged in nitrate translocation across cellular membranes are the key players governing nitrate distribution within the plant body. Two families of proton-coupled symporters, NRT1 and NRT2, and one type of proton-coupled antiporters, CIC, have been shown to be involved in nitrate transport in higher plants. The recent progress in research on NRT1 proteins has shed the light on the localization and physiological function of those nitrate transporters in the NO3(-) uptake, NO3(-) cell-to-cell and tissue-to-tissue distribution, nitrates accumulation and efflux within the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. This review focuses on the recent findings of the new molecular mechanisms controlling NO3(-) transport and signaling which employ nine NRT1 proteins of A. thaliana, with the emphasis on the physiological function and relevance of these proteins for the proper plant growth and development.