Increasing nitrogen absorption and assimilation ability under mixed NO_(3)^(–)and NH_(4)^(+) supply is a driver to promote growth of maize seedlings

Compared with sole nitrate (NO_(3)^(-)) or sole ammonium (NH_(4)^(+)) supply,mixed nitrogen (N) supply may promote growth of maize seedlings.Previous study suggested that mixed N supply not only increased photosynthesis rate,but also enhanced leaf growth by increasing auxin synthesis to build a large sink for C and N utilization.However,whether this process depends on N absorption is unknown.Here,maize seedlings were grown hydroponically with three N forms (NO_(3)^(-)only,75/25 NO_(3)^(-)/NH_(4)^(+) and NH_(4)^(+) only).The study results suggested that maize growth rate and N content of shoots under mixed N supply was little different to that under sole NO_(3)^(-)supply at 0–3 d,but was higher than under sole NO_(3)^(-)supply at 6–9 d.^(15)N influx rate under mixed N supply was greater than under sole NO_(3)^(-) or NH_(4)^(+) supply at 6–9 d,although NO_(3)^(-) and NH_(4)^(+) influx under mixed N supply were reduced compared to sole NO_(3)^(-) and NH_(4)^(+) supply,respectively.qRT-PCR determination suggested that the increased N absorption under mixed N supply may be related to the higher expression of NO_(3)^(-) transporters in roots,such as ZmNRT1.1A,ZmNRT1.1B,ZmNRT1.1C,ZmNRT1.2 and ZmNRT1.3,or NH_(4)^(+) absorption transporters,such as Zm AMT1.1A,especially the latter.Furthermore,plants had higher nitrate reductase (NR)glutamine synthase (GS) activity and amino acid content under mixed N supply than when under sole NO_(3)^(-) supply.The experiments with inhibitors of NR reductase and GS synthase further confirmed that N assimilation ability under mixed N supply was necessary to promote maize growth,especially for the reduction of NO_(3)^(-) by NR reductase.This research suggested that the increased processes of NO_(3)^(-)and NH_(4)^(+) assimilation by improving N-absorption ability of roots under mixed N supply may be the main driving force to increase maize growth.

Lateral root elongation in maize is related to auxin synthesis and transportation mediated by N metabolism under a mixed NO_(3)^(–) and NH_(4)^(+) supply

A mixed nitrate (NO_(3)^(–)) and ammonium (NH_(4)^(+)) supply can promote root growth in maize (Zea mays),however,the changes in root morphology and the related physiological mechanism under different N forms are still unclear.Here,maize seedlings were grown hydroponically with three N supplied in three different forms (NO_(3)^(–)only,75/25 NO_(3)^(–)/NH_(4)^(+)and NH_(4)^(+)only).Compared with sole NO_(3)^(–)or NH_(4)^(+),the mixed N supply increased the total root length of maize but did not affect the number of axial roots.The main reason was the increased total lateral root length,while the average lateral root (LR) length in each axle was only slightly increased.In addition,the average LR density of 2nd whorl crown root under mixed N was also increased.Compared with sole nitrate,mixed N could improve the N metabolism of roots (such as the N influx rate,nitrate reductase (NR) and glutamine synthase (GS)enzyme activities and total amino content of the roots).Experiments with exogenously added NR and GS inhibitors suggested that the increase in the average LR length under mixed N was related to the process of N assimilation,and whether the NR mediated NO synthesis participates in this process needs further exploration.Meanwhile,an investigation of the changes in root-shoot ratio and carbon (C) concentration showed that C transportation from shoots to roots may not be the key factor in mediating lateral root elongation,and the changes in the sugar concentration in roots further proved this conclusion.Furthermore,the synthesis and transportation of auxin in axial roots may play a key role in lateral root elongation,in which the expression of ZmPIN1B and ZmPIN9 may be involved in this pathway.This study preliminarily clarified the changes in root morphology and explored the possible physiological mechanism under a mixed N supply in maize,which may provide some theoretical basis for the cultivation of crop varieties with high N efficiency.

Nitrate Effect on Rice Growth and Nitrogen Absorption and Assimilation at Different Growth Stages

The effect of nitrate （NO3^-） on rice （Oryza sativa L.） growth as well as N absorption and assimilation during different growth stages was examined using three typical rice cultivars. Dry weight, yield, N uptake, nitrate reductase activity （NRA） in leaves, and glutamine synthetase activity （GSA） in roots and leaves during their entire growth periods, as well as the kinetic parameters of ammonium （NH4^＋） uptake at the seedling stage, were measured with solution culture experiments. Results indicated that addition of NH4^＋-N and NO3^-N at a ratio of 75：25 （NH4^＋＋NO3^- treatment） when compared with that of NH4^＋-N alone （NH4^＋ treatment） increased the dry weight of ‘Nanguang＇ cultivar by 30% and ‘Yunjing 38＇ cultivar by 31%, and also increased their grain yield by 21% and 17%, respectively. For the four growth stages, the total N accumulation in plants increased by an average of 36% for ‘Nanguang＇ and 31% for ‘Yunjing 38＇, whereas the increasing effect of NO3^- in the ‘4007＇ cultivar was only found at the seedling stage, in the NH4^＋＋NO3^- treatment compared to the NH4^＋ treatment, NRA in the leaves increased by 2.09 folds, and GSA increased by 92% in the roots and 52% in the leaves of the three cultivars. NO3^- supply increased the maximum uptake rate （Vmax） in the ‘Nanguang＇ and ‘Yunjing 38＇ cultivars, reflecting that the NO3^- itself, not the increasing N concentration, increased the uptake rate of NH4^＋ by rice. There was no effect on the apparent Michaelis-Menten constant （Kin） of the three cultivars. Thus, some replacement of NH4^＋ with NO3^-could greatly improve the growth of rice plants, mainly on account of the increased uptake of NH4^＋ promoted by NO3^-, and future studies should focus on the molecular mechanism of the increased uptake of NH4^＋ by NO3^-.

Nitrogen Use Efficiency of Rice Under Cadmium Contamination:Influence of Rice Cultivar Versus Soil Type

There is a need for rice cultivars with high yields and nitrogen(N) use efficiency(NUE), but with low cadmium(Cd) accumulation in Cd-contaminated paddy soils.To determine the relative effects of rice genotype, soil type, and Cd addition on rice grain yield and NUE, a pot experiment consisting of nine rice cultivars was conducted in two types of paddy soils, red soil(RS) and yellow soil(YS),without or with Cd spiked at 0.6 mg kg^(-1).The N supply was from both soil organic N pools and N fertilizers; thus, NUE was defined as the grain yield per unit of total crop-available N in the soil.Cd addition decreased grain yield and NUE in most rice cultivars,which was mainly related to reduced N uptake efficiency(NpUE, defined as the percentage of N taken up by the crop per unit of soil available N).However, Cd addition enhanced N assimilation efficiency(NtUE, defined as the grain yield per unit of N taken up by the crop) by 21.9% on average in all rice cultivars.The NpUE was mainly affected by soil type, whereas NtUE was affected by rice cultivar.Hybrid cultivars had higher NUEs than the japonica and indica cultivars because of their greater biomass and higher tolerance to Cd contamination.Reduction of NUE after Cd addition was stronger in RS than in YS, which was related to the lower absorption capacity for Cd in RS.Canonical correspondence analysis-based variation partitioning showed that cultivar type had the largest effect(34.4%) on NUE, followed by Cd addition(15.2%) and soil type(10.0%).