A recent study by researchers at Tohoku University, Japan, revealed the biological mechanisms that plants follow when absorbing nitrogen fertilizers from their roots, which were applied in the laboratory to young cress plants.
Nitrogen fertilizers mostly contain nitrogen, such as ammonium ions (NH4+), a chemical form in which nitrogen is easily absorbed by plant roots.
According to the study, published in the journal Frontiers in Plant Science, biological mechanisms in regulating plant roots' use of nitrogen via gene and protein control systems could help develop crops that require less nitrogen fertilizer to produce acceptable yields.
Crop development
Plant biochemist Suichi Kojima of Tohoku University, head of the research team, says in the university's press release that "one of the main goals of modern agricultural research is to develop crops that can grow healthily without relying on too much nitrogen fertilizers added to them."
To understand and apply the mechanism of controlling the absorption of nitrogen fertilizers in plant roots, genetically studying them and controlling them in the laboratory, the researchers studied Arabidopsis thaliana, a common species used in laboratory studies in plant sciences.
The laboratory genetic study of this plant showed that plants adapt and respond to environments of ammonium, the main component of nitrogen fertilizer, as plants absorb nitrogen from the soil, thus working to control nitrogen fertilizer.
Study aims to develop crops that grow healthily without relying on too much nitrogen fertilizer (Shutterstock)
The researchers also found that cress thrives in oxidized soil, where nitrates are the primary source of nitrogen. "The results of our laboratory applications collectively show the mechanisms of genetic regulation of plants when they use nitrogen fertilizers in their roots," Kojima says.
The study showed that there are 3 mechanisms for plant adaptation to ammonium environments, which are considered a reflection of genetic factors and systems, namely:
- First: Rapid response to enzymes in plant roots when providing ammonium.
- Second: the development of lateral roots of plants by suppressing the main root elongation when ammonium is supplied.
- Third: Maintain a high capacity for transporting low-affinity ammonium.
Other applications
Following the results of laboratory applications on cress, researchers tend to apply these biological mechanisms to other plant species, especially plants whose cultivation requires less fertilizer, including plants of major crops such as rice and other cereals.
If the applications to other types of crop plants are successful, it could open the way for plant growers and geneticists to grow crops that may need less fertilizer, which of course will help produce the yields needed to feed the world.
On the other hand, the Tohoku University statement says that another mechanism that could be another key to success concerns the promotion of the production or activity of enzymes that make amino acids.