Chinese Bulletin of Botany ›› 2016, Vol. 51 ›› Issue (2): 152-166.DOI: 10.11983/CBB15077

• INVITED REVIEW • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Advances in Study of Ammonium Assimilation and its Regulatory Mechanism in Plants

Xiaopeng Xu1, Xiangdong Fu2, Hong Liao1*   

  1. 1Root Biology Center, College of Agriculture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China

    2Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
  • Received:2015-05-18 Revised:2015-07-28 Online:2016-03-01 Published:2016-03-31
  • Contact: Hong Liao

Abstract: Nitrogen is one of the most important mineral nutrient elements for plant growth and development, playing an essential role in the whole process of plant life. Nitrogen assimilation is a central link for plants to utilize nitrogen and also a factor in low nitrogen use efficiency in plants. It includes two types: assimilation of nitrate (NO3 –) and ammonium (NH4 +); the latter is the critical step in the process of nitrogen assimilation. The source of NH4
+ during ammonium assimilation can be divided into 2 types—primary assimilation and secondary assimilation—but both proceed in the glutamine/glutamate (GS/GOGAT) pathway. Ammonium assimilation requires much energy resources but also consumes abundant carbon skeletons, so it is strictly regulated at different levels including transcription, post-transcription, and post-translation. We review the current progress in study of ammonium assimilation and its regulatory mechanism in plants.

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