The Roles of Glutamine Synthetase and Glutamate Synthase in Nitrogen Metabolism of Higher Plants

1987 ◽  
pp. 137-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. M. Wallsgrove
1988 ◽  
Vol 66 (10) ◽  
pp. 2103-2109 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. W. Joy

In plants, the primary input of nitrogen (obtained from the soil or from symbiotic dinitrogen fixation) occurs through the assimilation of ammonia into organic form. Synthesis of glutamine (via glutamine synthetase) is the major, and possibly exclusive, route for this process, and there is little evidence for the participation of glutamate dehydrogenase. A variety of reactions distribute glutamine nitrogen to other compounds, including transfer to amino nitrogen through glutamate synthase. In many plants asparagine is a major recipient of glutamine nitrogen and provides a mobile reservoir for transport to sites of growth; ureides perform a similar function in some legumes. Utilisation of transport forms of nitrogen, and a number of other metabolic processes, involves release of ammonia, which must be reassimilated. In illuminated leaves, there is an extensive flux of ammonia released by the photorespiratory cycle, requiring continuous efficient reassimilation. Aspects of ammonia recycling and related amide metabolism in higher plants are reviewed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yihao Wei ◽  
Shuping Xiong ◽  
Zhiyong Zhang ◽  
Xiaodan Meng ◽  
Lulu Wang ◽  
...  

Glutamine synthetase (GS) plays a major role in plant nitrogen metabolism, but the roles of individual GS isoforms in grains are unknown. Here, the localization and expression of individual TaGS isozymes in wheat grain were probed with TaGS isoenzyme-specific antibodies, and the nitrogen metabolism of grain during the grain filling stage were investigated. Immunofluorescence revealed that TaGS1;1, TaGS1;3, and TaGS2 were expressed in different regions of the embryo. In grain transporting tissues, TaGS1;2 was localized in vascular bundle; TaGS1;2 and TaGS1;1 were in chalaza and placentochalaza; TaGS1;1 and TaGS1;3 were in endosperm transfer cells; and TaGS1;3 and TaGS2 were in aleurone layer. GS exhibited maximum activity and expression at 8 days after flowering (DAF) with peak glutamine content in grains; from then, NH4+ increased largely from NO3- reduction, glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) aminating activity increased continuously, and the activities of GS and glutamate synthase (GOGAT) decreased, while only TaGS1;3 kept a stable expression in different TaGS isozymes. Hence, GS-GOGAT cycle and GDH play different roles in NH4+ assimilation of grain in different stages of grain development; TaGS1;3, located in aleurone layer and endosperm transfer cells, plays a key role in Gln into endosperm for gluten synthesis. At 30 DAF, grain amino acids are mainly transported from maternal phloem.


2021 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 358
Author(s):  
Kamal K. Singh ◽  
Shyamaprasad Saha ◽  
Ram C. Kadiravana ◽  
Deepika Mazumdar ◽  
Vijeta Rai ◽  
...  

Water deficit (WD) has adverse effects on plant growth, and acclimation requires responses allowing primary metabolism to continue. Resurrection plants can serve as model system to gain insight into metabolic regulation during WD. We herein report the response of a resurrection lycophyte, Selaginella bryopteris, to dehydration-rehydration cycle with emphasis on ammonium metabolism. Dehydration of S. bryopteris fronds resulted in decrease of total protein and increase of free ammonium levels and the effect was reversed on rehydration. The proline content increased twice after 24 h of dehydration, which again recovered to background levels comparable to that at full turgor state. The specific activity of glutamine synthetase (GS) didn’t change significantly till 6 h and then declined by 21% after 24 h of dehydration, whereas specific activities of glutamate synthase (GOGAT) and aminating glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) were enhanced significantly during dehydration. The deaminating activity of GDH also increased during dehydration albeit at a slower rate. Immunoblot analysis indicated overexpression of GS and GDH polypeptides during dehydration and their levels declined on rehydration. The results suggested significant role of GDH along with GS/GOGAT in production of nitrogen-rich amino acids for desiccation tolerance. Unlike higher plants S. bryopteris expressed GS only in cytosol. The enzyme had pH and temperature optima of 5.5 and 60°C, respectively, and it retained 96% activity on preincubation at 60°C for 30 min indicating thermostability. Hence, like higher plants the cytosolic GS from S. bryopteris has a conserved role in stress tolerance.


1978 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
pp. 553 ◽  
Author(s):  
MJ Boland ◽  
HM Fordyce ◽  
RM Greenwood

Levels of activity of glutamine synthetase, glutamate dehydrogenase and NADH-dependent glutamate synthase in nodule cytoplasm extracts of twelve herbaceous legume species have been measured. Nodules of all species contained substantial quantities of glutamine synthetase. Levels of glutamate synthase were found to be between 7 and 100% of those of glutamine synthetase, while levels of glutamate dehydrogenase varied widely between 0.2 and 150% of those of glutamine synthetase. The estimated Km for hydroxylamine of glutamine synthetase was found to vary between 0.02 and 0.5 mM in nine species tested, while that of glutamate dehydrogenase for ammonia varied between 0.03 M and 0.1 M in the four species containing significant levels of that enzyme. It is proposed that the pathway of ammonia assimilation via glutamine synthetase and NADH-dependent glutamate synthase-catalysed reactions is universal in legume nodule metabolism.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ling Lian ◽  
Yuelong Lin ◽  
Yidong Wei ◽  
Wei He ◽  
Qiuhua Cai ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC) plays an important role in the primary metabolism of higher plants. Several studies have revealed the critical importance of PEPC in the interaction of carbon and nitrogen metabolism. However, the function mechanism of PEPC in nitrogen metabolism is unclear and needs further investigation. Results This study indicates that transgenic rice expressing the sugarcane C4-PEPC gene displayed shorter primary roots and fewer crown roots at the seedling stage. However, total nitrogen content was significantly higher in transgenic rice than in wild type (WT) plants. Proteomic analysis revealed that there were more differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) responding to nitrogen changes in transgenic rice. In particular, the most enriched pathway “glutathione (GSH) metabolism”, which mainly contains GSH S-transferase (GST), was identified in transgenic rice. The expression of endogenous PEPC, GST and several genes involved in the TCA cycle, glycolysis and nitrogen assimilation changed in transgenic rice. Correspondingly, the activity of enzymes including GST, citrate synthase, 6-phosphofructokinase, pyruvate kinase and ferredoxin-dependent glutamate synthase significantly changed. In addition, the levels of organic acids in the TCA cycle and carbohydrates including sucrose, starch and soluble sugar altered in transgenic rice under different nitrogen source concentrations. GSH that the substrate of GST and its components including glutamic acid, cysteine and glycine accumulated in transgenic rice. Moreover, the levels of phytohormones including indoleacetic acid (IAA), zeatin (ZT) and isopentenyladenosine (2ip) were lower in the roots of transgenic rice under total nutrients. Taken together, the phenotype, physiological and biochemical characteristics of transgenic rice expressing C4-PEPC were different from WT under different nitrogen levels. Conclusions Our results revealed the possibility that PEPC affects nitrogen metabolism through regulating GST, which provide a new direction and concepts for the further study of the PEPC functional mechanism in nitrogen metabolism.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanjesh Tiwari ◽  
Anuradha Patel ◽  
Sheo Mohan Prasad

Abstract Current study deals with the assuaging effects of two phytohormones; indole acetic acid (IAA; 290 nM) and kinetin (KN; 10 nM) on growth, phycobiliproteins, status of nitrogen metabolism and biochemical constituents; protein, carbohydrate and exopolysaccharide contents in two diazotrophic cyanobacteria Nostoc muscorum and Anabaena exposed to chromium (CrVI) stress (100 µM and 150 µM). Chromium individually at both the tested doses expressively declined the growth, chlorophyll a to carotenoid ratio and contents of phycobiliproteins; phycocyanin (PC), allophycocyanin (APC), and phycoerythrin (PE). With distinctive impact on status of nitrogen metabolism chromium significantly reduced the nitrate (NO3—) and nitrite (NO2—) uptake rate and foremost decrease in nitrate and ammonia assimilating enzyme; nitrate reductase (NR), nitrite reductase (NiR), glutamine synthetase (GS), glutamate synthase (GOGAT) except glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH). However, beneath alike condition, exogenous application of IAA and KN exhibited noteworthy assuaging effects on growth-regulating parameters in both the paddy field cyanobacteria, which consummately occurred as a result of substantial decrease in Cr uptake and inducing signaling responses and also enhances the growth parameter i.e. nitrogen metabolism as a result of considerable lowering in Cr induced damaging effect on nitrogen metabolism and uptake rate, and the alleviating effect was more pronounced with the lower dose of Cr, efficient in N.muscorum than Anabaena.


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