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Characterization of nitrate assimilation in Lactuca sativa L. under different nitrogen sources

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Abstract

Optimal fertilization management is critical for romaine lettuce (Lactuca dolichophylla K.) cultivation, a major economical vegetable in China. Herein, we chose a romaine lettuce genotype (Lactuca sativa L.) known for “year-round production” and as “high-yielding,” to examine the effect of varied nitrogen (N) fertilizer forms on nitrate (NO3−) accumulation. We cloned NO3− reductase (NR) and nitrite (NO2−) reductase (NiR) of romaine lettuce and analyzed their expressions at different growth stages in response to different N forms. Five N treatments with varying NO3−-N:NH4+-N ratios were examined. Our results showed that lettuce leaf NO3− content decreased significantly with the increase of NH4+-N in fertilizer. The lowest NO3− content was observed when NO3−-N:NH4+-N ratio was 0:100. NR and NiR activity and expression initially were upregulated by the increase in NO3− content, with the highest level at 70:30 NO3−-N:NH4+-N ratio, but quickly declined thereafter. We also found the temporal activation pattern of N transporters was different from that of NO3− reductase and NO2− reductase, suggesting there is a coordination between N translocation and N reduction in lettuce leaves to maintain proper N homeostasis. These findings provide insights into the role of NO3−-N:NH4+-N ratio in regulating NO3− assimilation, balancing N metabolism, and reducing NO2− toxicity in vegetable production.

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Acknowledgements

This work was funded by the Natural Science Foundation of the Fujian Province of China (2012J01082), Fujian Vegetable Industry and Agricultural Technology Extension Program (KNJ-152020), TW and FJ Vegetable Germplasm Resources, Industry Extension Program (KF2015110), the Innovation and Service Platform of Facility Vegetable Seed Industry in Fuzhou, China (2017-PT-113) and the Major Science and Technology Projects of the Fujian Province of China (2013N2001).

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Author notes

  1. Fenglin Zhong, Shubin Wang and Junfang Lin have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Horticulture, Vegetable Research Institute, College of Food Science, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, Fujian, China

    Fenglin Zhong, Shubin Wang, Junfang Lin, Biying Lin, Xiangzhu Zhou, Yizhang Lin, Jie Pang & Shuang Wu

  2. Department of Horticulture and Biotechnology, Chinese Culture University, 55, Hwa-Kang Road, Yang-Ming-Shan, Taipei, Taiwan

    Su-feng Roan

  3. Department of Horticulture, National Taiwan University, No.1, Sec.4, Roosevelt Rd., Taipei, 106, Taiwan

    Iou-zen Chen

Authors
  1. Fenglin Zhong
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  2. Shubin Wang
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  3. Junfang Lin
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  4. Su-feng Roan
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  5. Biying Lin
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  6. Xiangzhu Zhou
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  7. Iou-zen Chen
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  8. Yizhang Lin
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  9. Jie Pang
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  10. Shuang Wu
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Contributions

Conceived and designed the experiments: FZ JL SW SR. Performed the experiments: FZ JL JW. Analyzed the data: FZ JL YL XZ IZ. Contributed materials: JP. Wrote the paper: FZ JL SW.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Jie Pang or Shuang Wu.

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The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationship that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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Zhong, F., Wang, S., Lin, J. et al. Characterization of nitrate assimilation in Lactuca sativa L. under different nitrogen sources. Plant Growth Regul 86, 1–10 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10725-018-0404-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10725-018-0404-6

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