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Effect of Nitrogen Source and Concentration on Growth and Activity of Nitrogen Assimilation Enzymes in Roots of a Moroccan Sorghum Ecotype

Published in Plant (Volume 4, Issue 6)
Received: 23 September 2016     Accepted: 8 October 2016     Published: 31 October 2016
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Abstract

Carbon and nitrogen metabolism pathways are regulated by complex mechanisms in order to optimize growth and development of plants. This study was conducted to contribute to the determination of roles of some key enzymes of carbon and nitrogen metabolism in sorghum roots. Sorghum were grown under nitrate (NO3-), ammonium (NH 4+) or nitrate combined to ammonium at different concentrations. Growth parameters and protein content were evaluated. In addition, we analyzed key enzymes activities involved in nitrogen and carbon metabolism such as: nitrate reductase (NR), glutamine synthetase (GS), aspartate aminotransferase (AAT) and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC). At high nitrogen levels (ammonium or nitrate), the sorghum roots showed an increase in biomass accompanied by an increase in protein content. Likewise, high concentrations induced accumulation of the non-photosynthetic isoform of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase. Glutamine synthetase and aspartate aminotransferase activities were also increased, especially at high levels of ammonium. These results showed that sorghum plants have an efficient system for nitrogen assimilation in their roots, allowing this plant to tolerate excessive concentration of this nutrient.

Published in Plant (Volume 4, Issue 6)
DOI 10.11648/j.plant.20160406.14
Page(s) 71-77
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2016. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Sorghum, Nitrogen Stress, Nitrogen Metabolism, Ammonium, Nitrate

References
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  • APA Style

    Reda Ben Mrid, Redouane El Omari, Mohamed Nhiri. (2016). Effect of Nitrogen Source and Concentration on Growth and Activity of Nitrogen Assimilation Enzymes in Roots of a Moroccan Sorghum Ecotype. Plant, 4(6), 71-77. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.plant.20160406.14

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    ACS Style

    Reda Ben Mrid; Redouane El Omari; Mohamed Nhiri. Effect of Nitrogen Source and Concentration on Growth and Activity of Nitrogen Assimilation Enzymes in Roots of a Moroccan Sorghum Ecotype. Plant. 2016, 4(6), 71-77. doi: 10.11648/j.plant.20160406.14

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    AMA Style

    Reda Ben Mrid, Redouane El Omari, Mohamed Nhiri. Effect of Nitrogen Source and Concentration on Growth and Activity of Nitrogen Assimilation Enzymes in Roots of a Moroccan Sorghum Ecotype. Plant. 2016;4(6):71-77. doi: 10.11648/j.plant.20160406.14

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  • @article{10.11648/j.plant.20160406.14,
      author = {Reda Ben Mrid and Redouane El Omari and Mohamed Nhiri},
      title = {Effect of Nitrogen Source and Concentration on Growth and Activity of Nitrogen Assimilation Enzymes in Roots of a Moroccan Sorghum Ecotype},
      journal = {Plant},
      volume = {4},
      number = {6},
      pages = {71-77},
      doi = {10.11648/j.plant.20160406.14},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.plant.20160406.14},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.plant.20160406.14},
      abstract = {Carbon and nitrogen metabolism pathways are regulated by complex mechanisms in order to optimize growth and development of plants. This study was conducted to contribute to the determination of roles of some key enzymes of carbon and nitrogen metabolism in sorghum roots. Sorghum were grown under nitrate (NO3-), ammonium (NH 4+) or nitrate combined to ammonium at different concentrations. Growth parameters and protein content were evaluated. In addition, we analyzed key enzymes activities involved in nitrogen and carbon metabolism such as: nitrate reductase (NR), glutamine synthetase (GS), aspartate aminotransferase (AAT) and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC). At high nitrogen levels (ammonium or nitrate), the sorghum roots showed an increase in biomass accompanied by an increase in protein content. Likewise, high concentrations induced accumulation of the non-photosynthetic isoform of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase. Glutamine synthetase and aspartate aminotransferase activities were also increased, especially at high levels of ammonium. These results showed that sorghum plants have an efficient system for nitrogen assimilation in their roots, allowing this plant to tolerate excessive concentration of this nutrient.},
     year = {2016}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Effect of Nitrogen Source and Concentration on Growth and Activity of Nitrogen Assimilation Enzymes in Roots of a Moroccan Sorghum Ecotype
    AU  - Reda Ben Mrid
    AU  - Redouane El Omari
    AU  - Mohamed Nhiri
    Y1  - 2016/10/31
    PY  - 2016
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.plant.20160406.14
    DO  - 10.11648/j.plant.20160406.14
    T2  - Plant
    JF  - Plant
    JO  - Plant
    SP  - 71
    EP  - 77
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2331-0677
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.plant.20160406.14
    AB  - Carbon and nitrogen metabolism pathways are regulated by complex mechanisms in order to optimize growth and development of plants. This study was conducted to contribute to the determination of roles of some key enzymes of carbon and nitrogen metabolism in sorghum roots. Sorghum were grown under nitrate (NO3-), ammonium (NH 4+) or nitrate combined to ammonium at different concentrations. Growth parameters and protein content were evaluated. In addition, we analyzed key enzymes activities involved in nitrogen and carbon metabolism such as: nitrate reductase (NR), glutamine synthetase (GS), aspartate aminotransferase (AAT) and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC). At high nitrogen levels (ammonium or nitrate), the sorghum roots showed an increase in biomass accompanied by an increase in protein content. Likewise, high concentrations induced accumulation of the non-photosynthetic isoform of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase. Glutamine synthetase and aspartate aminotransferase activities were also increased, especially at high levels of ammonium. These results showed that sorghum plants have an efficient system for nitrogen assimilation in their roots, allowing this plant to tolerate excessive concentration of this nutrient.
    VL  - 4
    IS  - 6
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Faculty of Science and Technology, Tangier, Morocco

  • Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Faculty of Science and Technology, Tangier, Morocco

  • Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Faculty of Science and Technology, Tangier, Morocco

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