Nitrogen Source Dependent Changes in Central Sugar Metabolism Maintain Cell Wall Assembly in Mitochondrial Complex I-Defective frostbite1 and Secondarily Affect Programmed Cell Death

How lignin biosynthesis responds to nitrogen in plants: a scoping review

Nitrogen (N) plays a critical role in the functioning of key amino acids and synthetic enzymes responsible for the various stages of lignin biosynthesis. However, the precise mechanisms through which N influences lignin biosynthesis have not been fully elucidated. This scoping review explores how lignin biosynthesis responds to N in plants. A systematic search of the literature in several databases was conducted using relevant keywords. Only 44 of the 1842 selected studies contained a range of plant species, experimental conditions, and research approaches. Lignin content, structure, and biosynthetic pathways in response to N are discussed, and possible response mechanisms of lignin under low N are proposed. Among the selected studies, 64.52% of the studies reter to lignin content found a negative correlation between N availability and lignin content. Usually, high N decreases the lignin content, delays cell lignification, increases p-hydroxyphenyl propane (H) monomer content, and regulates lignin synthesis through the expression of key genes (PAL, 4CL, CCR, CAD, COMT, LAC, and POD) encoding miRNAs and transcription factors (e.g., MYB, bHLH). N deficiency enhances lignin synthesis through the accumulation of phenylpropanoids, phenolics, and soluble carbohydrates, and indirect changes in phytohormones, secondary metabolites, etc. This review provides new insights and important references for future studies on the regulation of lignin biosynthesis.

Glyoxalase I activity affects Arabidopsis sensitivity to ammonium nutrition

Elevated methylglyoxal levels contribute to ammonium-induced growth disorders in Arabidopsis thaliana. Methylglyoxal detoxification pathway limitation, mainly the glyoxalase I activity, leads to enhanced sensitivity of plants to ammonium nutrition. Ammonium applied to plants as the exclusive source of nitrogen often triggers multiple phenotypic effects, with severe growth inhibition being the most prominent symptom. Glycolytic flux increase, leading to overproduction of its toxic by-product methylglyoxal (MG), is one of the major metabolic consequences of long-term ammonium nutrition. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of MG metabolism on ammonium-dependent growth restriction in Arabidopsis thaliana plants. As the level of MG in plant cells is maintained by the glyoxalase (GLX) system, we analyzed MG-related metabolism in plants with a dysfunctional glyoxalase pathway. We report that MG detoxification, based on glutathione-dependent glyoxalases, is crucial for plants exposed to ammonium nutrition, and its essential role in ammonium sensitivity relays on glyoxalase I (GLXI) activity. Our results indicated that the accumulation of MG-derived advanced glycation end products significantly contributes to the incidence of ammonium toxicity symptoms. Using A. thaliana frostbite1 as a model plant that overcomes growth repression on ammonium, we have shown that its resistance to enhanced MG levels is based on increased GLXI activity and tolerance to elevated MG-derived advanced glycation end-product (MAGE) levels. Furthermore, our results show that glyoxalase pathway activity strongly affects cellular antioxidative systems. Under stress conditions, the disruption of the MG detoxification pathway limits the functioning of antioxidant defense. However, under optimal growth conditions, a defect in the MG detoxification route results in the activation of antioxidative systems.

Respiratory Burst Oxidase Homolog D as a Modulating Component of Oxidative Response under Ammonium Toxicity

Delayed growth, a visible phenotypic component of the so-called ammonium syndrome, occurs when ammonium is the sole inorganic nitrogen source. Previously, we have shown that modification of apoplastic reactive oxygen species (apROS) metabolism is a key factor contributing to plant growth retardation under ammonium nutrition. Here, we further analyzed the changes in apROS metabolism in transgenic plants with disruption of the D isoform of the respiratory burst oxidase homolog (RBOH) that is responsible for apROS production. Ammonium-grown Arabidopsisrbohd plants are characterized by up to 50% lower contents of apoplastic superoxide and hydrogen peroxide. apROS sensing markers such as OZF1 and AIR12 were downregulated, and the ROS-responsive signaling pathway, including MPK3, was also downregulated in rbohd plants cultivated using ammonium as the sole nitrogen source. Additionally, the expression of the cell-wall-integrity marker FER and peroxidases 33 and 34 was decreased. These modifications may contribute to phenomenon wherein ammonium inhibited the growth of transgenic plants to a greater extent than that of wild-type plants. Overall, this study indicated that due to disruption of apROS metabolism, rbohd plants cannot adjust to ammonium toxicity and are more sensitive to these conditions.

Exogenous GABA promotes adaptation and growth by altering the carbon and nitrogen metabolic flux in poplar seedlings under low nitrogen conditions

Nitrogen (N) deficiency adversely affects tree growth. Additionally, γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is closely associated with growth and stress responses because of its effects on carbon (C) and N metabolism. However, little is known about its roles related to plant adaptations to N-deficient conditions. In this study, we analyzed the effects of GABA (0, 2 and 10 mM) applications on the growth traits and physiological responses of poplar (Populus alba × P. glandulosa '84K') seedlings under high N (HN) and low N (LN) conditions. We found that the added GABA interacted with N to affect more than half of the studied parameters, with greater effects in LN plants than in HN plants. Under LN conditions, the GABA application tended to increase poplar growth, accompanied by increased xylem fiber cell length and xylem width. In stems, exogenous GABA increased the abundance of non-structural carbohydrates (starch and sugars) and tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediates (succinate, malate and citrate), but had the opposite effect on the structural C contents (hemicellulose and lignin). Meanwhile, exogenous GABA increased the total soluble protein contents in leaves and stems, accompanied by significant increases in nitrate reductase, nitrite reductase and glutamine synthetase activities in leaves, but significant decreases in those (except for the increased glutamate synthetase activity) in stems. A multiple factorial analysis indicated that the nitrate assimilation pathway substantially influences poplar survival and growth in the presence of GABA under LN conditions. Interestingly, GABA applications also considerably attenuated the LN-induced increase in the activities of leaf antioxidant enzymes, including peroxidase and catalase, implying that GABA may regulate the relative allocation of C and N for growth activities by decreasing the energy cost associated with stress defense. Our results suggest that GABA enhances poplar growth and adaptation by regulating the C and N metabolic flux under N-deficient conditions.

Mitochondrial NAD(P)H oxidation pathways and nitrate/ammonium redox balancing in plants

Plant mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation is characterised by alternative electron transport pathways with different energetic efficiencies, allowing turnover of cellular redox compounds like NAD(P)H. These electron transport chain pathways are profoundly affected by soil nitrogen availability, most commonly as oxidized nitrate (NO₃^-) and/or reduced ammonium (NH₄⁺). The bioenergetic strategies involved in assimilating different N sources can alter redox homeostasis and antioxidant systems in different cellular compartments, including the mitochondria and the cell wall. Conversely, changes in mitochondrial redox systems can affect plant responses to N. This review explores the integration between N assimilation, mitochondrial redox metabolism, and apoplast metabolism.

Changes in water loss and cell wall metabolism during postharvest withering of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) leaves using tandem mass tag-based quantitative proteomics approach

Withering is an important biological process accompanied by dehydration and cell wall metabolism in postharvest plant organs during curing/processing and storage. However, dynamics involved in cell wall metabolism and resultant water loss during withering in postharvest tobacco leaves is not well-documented. Here, tandem mass tag (TMT)-based quantitative proteomic analysis in postharvest tobacco leaves (cultivar K326) under different withering conditions was performed. In total, 11,556 proteins were detected, among which 496 differentially abundant proteins (DAPs) were identified. To elucidate the withering mechanism of tobacco leaves, 27 DAPs associated with cell wall metabolism were screened. In particular, pectin acetylesterases, glucan endo-1,3-beta-glucosidases, xyloglucan endotransglucosylase/hydrolase, alpha-xylosidase 1-like, probable galactinol-sucrose galactosyltransferases, endochitinase A, chitotriosidase-1-like and expansin were the key proteins responsible for the withering of postharvest tobacco leaves. These DAPs were mainly involved in pectin metabolism, cellulose, hemicellulose and galactose metabolism, amino sugar and nucleotide sugar metabolism as well as cell wall expansion. Furthermore, relative water content and softness values were significantly and positively correlated. Thus, dehydration and cell wall metabolism were crucial for tobacco leaf withering under different conditions. Nine candidate DAPs were confirmed by parallel reaction monitoring (PRM) technique. These results provide new insights into the withering mechanism underlying postharvest physiological regulatory networks in plants/crops.