The alleviation of ammonium toxicity in plants

Nitrogen(N)is an essential macronutrient for plants and profoundly affects crop yields and qualities.Ammonium(NH4+)and nitrate(NO3-)are major inorganic N forms absorbed by plants from the surrounding environments.Intriguingly,NH4+is usually toxic to plants when it serves as the sole or dominant N source.It is thus important for plants to coordinate the utilization of NH4+and the alleviation of NH4+toxicity.To fully decipher the molecular mechanisms underlying how plants minimize NH4+toxicity may broadly benefit agricultural practice.In the current minireview,we attempt to discuss recent discoveries in the strategies for mitigating NH4+toxicity in plants,which may provide potential solutions for improving the nitrogen use efficiency(NUE)and stress adaptions in crops.

Microcystin-LR biodegradation by Sphingopyxis sp.USTB-05

A promising bacterial strain for biodegradingmicrocystin-LR(MC-LR)as the sole carbon and nitrogensource was successfully isolated from Lake Dianchi,China.The strain was identified as Sphingopyxis sp.USTB-05,which was the first isolated MCs-biodegradingSphingopyxis sp.in China.The average biodegradationrate of MC-LR by Sphingopyxis sp.USTB-05 was 28.8mg·L^(-1)per day,which was apparently higher than those ofother bacteria reported so far.The optimal temperature andpH for both strain USTB-05 growth and MC-LRbiodegradation were 30℃and 7.0,respectively.Therelease of MC-LR from the cyanobacterial cells collectedfrom Lake Guishui and the biodegradation of MC-LR byboth strain and cell-free extract(CE)were investigated.The results indicated that MC-LR with the initialconcentration of 4.0 mg·L^(-1)in water was biodegraded bySphingopyxis sp.USTB-05 within 4 d,while MC-LR withthe initial concentration of 28.8 mg·L^(-1)could be completelyremoved in 3 h by CE of Sphingopyxis sp.USTB-05 containing 350 mg·L^(-1)protein.During enzymaticbiodegradation of MC-LR,two intermediate metabolitesand a dead-end product were observed on an HPLCchromatogram.Moreover,the similar scanning profiles ofMC-LR and its metabolic products indicate that the Addaside-chain of MC-LR was kept intact in all products.

Synergistic removal of aniline by carbon nanotubes and the enzymes of Delftia sp. XYJ6

Synergistic removal of aniline by carbon nanotubes and the enzymes of Delftia sp. XYJ6, a newly isolated bacterial strain for biodegrading aniline, was investigated. It showed that biodegradation rate of aniline was increased with the augment of protein concentration in cell-free extract of Delftia sp. XYJ6. The adsorption amount of aniline by multi-walled carbon nanotubes （MWCNTs） was slightly higher than that by single-walled carbon nanotubes （SWCNTs）, however the adsorption amount of protein of Delftia sp. XYJ6 by MWCNTs was lower than that by SWCNTs. Much more amount of aniline could be removed by CE of Delftia sp. XYJ6 in the presence of SWCNTs than MWCNTs, which indicated that an efficient reaction between aniline and enzymes of Delftia sp. XYJ6 on the surface of SWCNTs played a key role in the rapid enzymatic biodegradation of aniline. This study is not previously reported and may be useful in basic research and the removal of aniline from wastewater.

Nitrate transporter NRT1.1 and anion channel SLAH3 form a functional unit to regulate nitrate-dependent alleviation of ammonium toxicity

Ammonium(NH_(4)^(+))and nitrate(NO_(3)^(-))are major inorganic nitrogen(N)sources for plants.When serving as the sole or dominant N supply,NH_(4)^(+)often causes root inhibition and shoot chlorosis in plants,known as ammonium toxicity.NO_(3)^(-) usually causes no toxicity and can mitigate ammonium toxicity even at low concentrations,referred to as nitrate-dependent alleviation of ammonium toxicity.Our previous studies indicated a NO_(3)^(-) efflux channel SLAH3 is involved in this process.However,whether additional components contribute to NO_(3)^(-)-mediated NH_(4)^(+)detoxification is unknown.Previously,mutations in NO_(3)^(-) transporter NRT1.1 were shown to cause enhanced resistance to high concentrations of NH_(4)^(+).Whereas,in this study,we found when the high-NH_(4)^(+) medium was supplemented with low concentrations of NO_(3)^(-),nrt1.1 mutant plants showed hyper-sensitive phenotype instead.Furthermore,mutation in NRT1.1 caused enhanced medium acidification under high-NH_(4)^(+)/Iow-NO_(3)^(-) condition,suggesting NRT1.1 regulates ammonium toxicity by facilitating H+uptake.Moreover,NRT1.1 was shown to interact with SLAH3 to form a transporter-channel complex.Interestingly,SLAH3 appeared to affect NO_(3)^(-) influx while NRT1.1 influenced NO_(3)^(-) efflux,suggesting NRT1.1 and SLAH3 regulate each other at protein and/or gene expression levels.Our study thus revealed NRT1.1 and SLAH3 form a functional unit to regulate nitrate-dependent alleviation of ammonium toxicity through regulating NO_(3)^(-) transport and balancing rhizosphere acidification.