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Harnessing root architecture to address global challenges.
Lynch, JP
The Plant journal : for cell and molecular biology. 2022;(2):415-431
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Abstract
Root architecture can be targeted in breeding programs to develop crops with better capture of water and nutrients. In rich nations, such crops would reduce production costs and environmental pollution and, in developing nations, they would improve food security and economic development. Crops with deeper roots would have better climate resilience while also sequestering atmospheric CO2 . Deeper rooting, which improves water and N capture, is facilitated by steeper root growth angles, fewer axial roots, reduced lateral branching, and anatomical phenotypes that reduce the metabolic cost of root tissue. Mechanical impedance, hypoxia, and Al toxicity are constraints to subsoil exploration. To improve topsoil foraging for P, K, and other shallow resources, shallower root growth angles, more axial roots, and greater lateral branching are beneficial, as are metabolically cheap roots. In high-input systems, parsimonious root phenotypes that focus on water capture may be advantageous. The growing prevalence of Conservation Agriculture is shifting the mechanical impedance characteristics of cultivated soils in ways that may favor plastic root phenotypes capable of exploiting low resistance pathways to the subsoil. Root ideotypes for many low-input systems would not be optimized for any one function, but would be resilient against an array of biotic and abiotic challenges. Root hairs, reduced metabolic cost, and developmental regulation of plasticity may be useful in all environments. The fitness landscape of integrated root phenotypes is large and complex, and hence will benefit from in silico tools. Understanding and harnessing root architecture for crop improvement is a transdisciplinary opportunity to address global challenges.
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Plant nitrogen nutrition: The roles of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi.
Xie, K, Ren, Y, Chen, A, Yang, C, Zheng, Q, Chen, J, Wang, D, Li, Y, Hu, S, Xu, G
Journal of plant physiology. 2022;:153591
Abstract
Nitrogen (N) is the most abundant mineral nutrient required by plants, and crop productivity depends heavily on N fertilization in many soils. Production and application of N fertilizers consume huge amounts of energy and substantially increase the costs of agricultural production. Excess N compounds released from agricultural systems are also detrimental to the environment. Thus, increasing plant N uptake efficiency is essential for the development of sustainable agriculture. Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi are beneficial symbionts of most terrestrial plants that facilitate plant nutrient uptake and increase host resistance to diverse environmental stresses. AM association is an endosymbiotic process that relies on the differentiation of both host plant roots and AM fungi to create novel contact interfaces within the cells of plant roots. AM plants have two pathways for nutrient uptake: either direct uptake via the root hairs and root epidermis, or indirectly through AM fungal hyphae into root cortical cells. Over the last few years, great progress has been made in deciphering the molecular mechanisms underlying the AM-mediated modulation of nutrient uptake processes, and a growing number of fungal and plant genes responsible for the uptake of nutrients from soil or transfer across the fungi-root interface have been identified. Here, we mainly summarize the recent advances in N uptake, assimilation, and translocation in AM symbiosis, and also discuss how N interplays with C and P in modulating AM development, as well as the synergies between AM fungi and soil microbial communities in N uptake.
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Pentacyclic Triterpenoids with Nitrogen-Containing Heterocyclic Moiety, Privileged Hybrids in Anticancer Drug Discovery.
Khwaza, V, Mlala, S, Oyedeji, OO, Aderibigbe, BA
Molecules (Basel, Switzerland). 2021;(9)
Abstract
Pentacyclic triterpenoids are well-known phytochemicals with various biological activities commonly found in plants as secondary metabolites. The wide range of biological activities exhibited by triterpenoids has made them the most valuable sources of pharmacological agents. A number of novel triterpenoid derivatives with many skeletal modifications have been developed. The most important modifications are the formation of analogues or derivatives with nitrogen-containing heterocyclic scaffolds. The derivatives with nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compounds are among the most promising candidate for the development of novel therapeutic drugs. About 75% of FDA-approved drugs are nitrogen-containing heterocyclic moieties. The unique properties of heterocyclic compounds have encouraged many researchers to develop new triterpenoid analogous with pharmacological activities. In this review, we discuss recent advances of nitrogen-containing heterocyclic triterpenoids as potential therapeutic agents. This comprehensive review will assist medicinal chemists to understand new strategies that can result in the development of compounds with potential therapeutic efficacy.
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4.
Molecular Regulatory Networks for Improving Nitrogen Use Efficiency in Rice.
Hou, M, Yu, M, Li, Z, Ai, Z, Chen, J
International journal of molecular sciences. 2021;(16)
Abstract
Nitrogen is an important factor limiting the growth and yield of rice. However, the excessive application of nitrogen will lead to water eutrophication and economic costs. To create rice varieties with high nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) has always been an arduous task in rice breeding. The processes for improving NUE include nitrogen uptake, nitrogen transport from root to shoot, nitrogen assimilation, and nitrogen redistribution, with each step being indispensable to the improvement of NUE. Here, we summarize the effects of absorption, transport, and metabolism of nitrate, ammonium, and amino acids on NUE, as well as the role of hormones in improving rice NUE. Our discussion provide insight for further research in the future.
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5.
Lateral root formation and nutrients: nitrogen in the spotlight.
Pélissier, PM, Motte, H, Beeckman, T
Plant physiology. 2021;(3):1104-1116
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Abstract
Lateral roots are important to forage for nutrients due to their ability to increase the uptake area of a root system. Hence, it comes as no surprise that lateral root formation is affected by nutrients or nutrient starvation, and as such contributes to the root system plasticity. Understanding the molecular mechanisms regulating root adaptation dynamics toward nutrient availability is useful to optimize plant nutrient use efficiency. There is at present a profound, though still evolving, knowledge on lateral root pathways. Here, we aimed to review the intersection with nutrient signaling pathways to give an update on the regulation of lateral root development by nutrients, with a particular focus on nitrogen. Remarkably, it is for most nutrients not clear how lateral root formation is controlled. Only for nitrogen, one of the most dominant nutrients in the control of lateral root formation, the crosstalk with multiple key signals determining lateral root development is clearly shown. In this update, we first present a general overview of the current knowledge of how nutrients affect lateral root formation, followed by a deeper discussion on how nitrogen signaling pathways act on different lateral root-mediating mechanisms for which multiple recent studies yield insights.
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6.
Effects of biological nitrification inhibitors on nitrogen use efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions in agricultural soils: A review.
Wang, X, Bai, J, Xie, T, Wang, W, Zhang, G, Yin, S, Wang, D
Ecotoxicology and environmental safety. 2021;:112338
Abstract
To maintain and increase crop yields, large amounts of nitrogen fertilizers have been applied to farmland. However, the nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) of chemical fertilizer remains very low, which may lead to serious environmental problems, including nitrate pollution, air quality degradation and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Nitrification inhibitors can alleviate nitrogen loss by inhibiting nitrification; thus, biological nitrification inhibition by plants has gradually attracted increasing attention due to its low cost and environmental friendliness. Research progress on BNI is reviewed in this article, including the source, mechanisms, influencing factors and application of BNIs. In addition, the impact of BNI on agriculture and GHG emissions is summarized from the perspective of agricultural production and environmental protection, and the key future research prospects of BNIs are also noted.
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7.
Geminal Diheteroatomic Motifs: Some Applications of Acetals, Ketals, and Their Sulfur and Nitrogen Homologues in Medicinal Chemistry and Drug Design.
Wu, YJ, Meanwell, NA
Journal of medicinal chemistry. 2021;(14):9786-9874
Abstract
Acetals and ketals and their nitrogen and sulfur homologues are often considered to be unconventional and potentially problematic scaffolding elements or pharmacophores for the design of orally bioavailable drugs. This opinion is largely a function of the perception that such motifs might be chemically unstable under the acidic conditions of the stomach and upper gastrointestinal tract. However, even simple acetals and ketals, including acyclic molecules, can be sufficiently robust under acidic conditions to be fashioned into orally bioavailable drugs, and these structural elements are embedded in many effective therapeutic agents. The chemical stability of molecules incorporating geminal diheteroatomic motifs can be modulated by physicochemical design principles that include the judicious deployment of proximal electron-withdrawing substituents and conformational restriction. In this Perspective, we exemplify geminal diheteroatomic motifs that have been utilized in the discovery of orally bioavailable drugs or drug candidates against the backdrop of understanding their potential for chemical lability.
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8.
Iron Transport across Symbiotic Membranes of Nitrogen-Fixing Legumes.
Day, DA, Smith, PMC
International journal of molecular sciences. 2021;(1)
Abstract
Iron is an essential nutrient for the legume-rhizobia symbiosis and nitrogen-fixing bacteroids within root nodules of legumes have a very high demand for the metal. Within the infected cells of nodules, the bacteroids are surrounded by a plant membrane to form an organelle-like structure called the symbiosome. In this review, we focus on how iron is transported across the symbiosome membrane and accessed by the bacteroids.
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9.
Using foliar nitrogen application during veraison to improve the flavor components of grape and wine.
Cheng, X, Liang, Y, Zhang, A, Wang, P, He, S, Zhang, K, Wang, J, Fang, Y, Sun, X
Journal of the science of food and agriculture. 2021;(4):1288-1300
Abstract
Nitrogen is involved in the winemaking process from grapevine growth to wine fermentation, and its precise utilization in vineyards can regulate grape and wine quality. Foliar nitrogen application during veraison (FNAV) could prevent nitrogen deficiency in grape and must in nitrogen-deficient vineyards. Moreover, FNAV also could improve certain flavor components of grape and wine, but little attention has been paid to FNAV. Therefore, this paper mainly reviews the difficulties encountered in current applications of nitrogen in vineyards and wineries, and the advantages of FNAV over the addition of nitrogen in soil and wineries. And it discusses that FNAV can increase yeast-assimilable nitrogen and phenolics, and scarcely affect volatile components of grape (must and wine), and points out the existing problems including the core issue and then puts forward future research directions. This information may indicate future directions for research, and provide a reference for viticulturists and winemakers on the precise application of nitrogen on grapevine and must to further improve grape and wine quality in nitrogen-deficient vineyards. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.
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10.
The role of auxin in nitrogen-modulated shoot branching.
Hou, M, Wu, D, Li, Y, Tao, W, Chao, L, Zhang, Y
Plant signaling & behavior. 2021;(4):1885888
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Abstract
Shoot branching is determined by axillary bud formation and outgrowth and remains one of the most variable determinants of yield in many crops. Plant nitrogen (N) acquired mainly in the forms of nitrate and ammonium from soil, dominates plant development, and high-yield crop production relies heavily on N fertilization. In this review, the regulation of axillary bud outgrowth by N availability and forms is summarized in plant species. The mechanisms of auxin function in this process have been well characterized and reviewed, while recent literature has highlighted that auxin export from a bud plays a critical role in N-modulating this process.