Skip Navigation



AOBPreview published online on December 9, 2005
Annals of Botany, doi:10.1093/aob/mcj601
This Article
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
97/5/875    most recent
mcj601v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by WALCH-LIU, P.
Right arrow Articles by FORDE, B. G.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by WALCH-LIU, P.
Right arrow Articles by FORDE, B. G.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by WALCH-LIU, P.
Right arrow Articles by FORDE, B. G.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2005. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Annals of Botany Company. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org
Received August 11, 2005
Revised September 9, 2005
Accepted October 11, 2005

IBC Root Highlight: Invited Review

Nitrogen Regulation of Root Branching

PIA WALCH-LIU 1, IGOR I. IVANOV 2, SOPHIE FILLEUR 3, YINBO GAN 4, TONY REMANS 1, and BRIAN G. FORDE 1 *

1 Department of Biological Sciences, Lancaster University, Bailrigg, Lancaster LA1 4YQ, UK
2 Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Biology, Ufa Research Centre, Prospekt Oktyabrya 69, Ufa 450054, Russia
3 Department of Biological Sciences, Lancaster University, Bailrigg, Lancaster LA1 4YQ, UK; Present address: Institut des Sciences Végétales CNRS, 1 Avenue de la Terrasse, 91198 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
4 Department of Biological Sciences, Lancaster University, Bailrigg, Lancaster LA1 4YQ, UK; Present address: Centre for Novel Agricultural Products, University of York, Heslington, York, UK

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
BRIAN G. FORDE, E-mail: b.g.forde{at}lancaster.ac.uk


  Abstract

• Background Many plant species can modify their root architecture to enable them to forage for heterogeneously distributed nutrients in the soil. The foraging response normally involves increased proliferation of lateral roots within nutrient-rich soil patches, but much remains to be understood about the signalling mechanisms that enable roots to sense variations in the external concentrations of different mineral nutrients and to modify their patterns of growth and development accordingly.

• Scope In this review we consider different aspects of the way in which the nitrogen supply can modify root branching, focusing on Arabidopsis thaliana. Our current understanding of the mechanism of nitrate stimulation of lateral root growth and the role of the ANR1 gene are summarized. In addition, evidence supporting the possible role of auxin in regulating the systemic inhibition of early lateral root development by high rates of nitrate supply is presented. Finally, we examine recent evidence that an amino acid, L-glutamate, can act as an external signal to elicit complex changes in root growth and development.

• Conclusions It is clear that plants have evolved sophisticated pathways for sensing and responding to changes in different components of the external nitrogen supply as well as their own internal nitrogen status. We speculate on the possibility that the effects elicited by external L-glutamate represent a novel form of foraging response that could potentially enhance a plant's ability to compete with its neighbours and micro-organisms for localized sources of organic nitrogen.

Keywords: Arabidopsis thaliana, auxin, dissolved organic nitrogen, foraging, glutamate, lateral roots, MADS box transcription factor, nitrate, nitrogen, root architecture, root development, roots, signalling, Thlaspi caerulescens.
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Plant Physiol.Home page
R. Wang, X. Xing, Y. Wang, A. Tran, and N. M. Crawford
A Genetic Screen for Nitrate Regulatory Mutants Captures the Nitrate Transporter Gene NRT1.1
Plant Physiology, September 1, 2009; 151(1): 472 - 478.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USAHome page
M. L. Gifford, A. Dean, R. A. Gutierrez, G. M. Coruzzi, and K. D. Birnbaum
Cell-specific nitrogen responses mediate developmental plasticity
PNAS, January 15, 2008; 105(2): 803 - 808.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 ANN BOT (LOND)Home page
A. Sorgona', M. R. Abenavoli, P. G. Gringeri, and G. Cacco
Comparing Morphological Plasticity of Root Orders in Slow- and Fast-growing Citrus Rootstocks Supplied with Different Nitrate Levels
Ann. Bot., November 1, 2007; 100(6): 1287 - 1296.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J Exp BotHome page
E. Fernandez and A. Galvan
Inorganic nitrogen assimilation in Chlamydomonas
J. Exp. Bot., July 1, 2007; 58(9): 2279 - 2287.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J Exp BotHome page
H. Zhang, H. Rong, and D. Pilbeam
Signalling mechanisms underlying the morphological responses of the root system to nitrogen in Arabidopsis thaliana
J. Exp. Bot., July 1, 2007; 58(9): 2329 - 2338.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J Exp BotHome page
B. G. Forde and P. J. Lea
Glutamate in plants: metabolism, regulation, and signalling
J. Exp. Bot., July 1, 2007; 58(9): 2339 - 2358.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Plant Cell PhysiolHome page
P. Walch-Liu, L.-H. Liu, T. Remans, M. Tester, and B. G. Forde
Evidence that L-Glutamate Can Act as an Exogenous Signal to Modulate Root Growth and Branching in Arabidopsis thaliana
Plant Cell Physiol., August 1, 2006; 47(8): 1045 - 1057.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 ANN BOT (LOND)Home page
T. L. Rost and A. J. Bloom
Preface.
Ann. Bot., May 1, 2006; 97(5): 837 - 838.
[Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.