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Correlation of continuous ryegrass regrowth with cytokinin induced by root nitrate absorption

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Abstract

This study investigated the separate and combined effects of nitrate (NO3 −) and cytokinin additions on continuous ryegrass regrowth after defoliation and the underlying mechanisms. Our results showed that frequent defoliation reduced the biomass of newly grown leaves and roots, the root soluble carbohydrate contents, the root vitality (an indicator of root absorption capacity), and the leaf contents of NO3 −, zeatin and zeatin riboside (Z + ZR), and isopentenyl adenine and isopentenyl adenosine (IP + IPA). NO3 −addition to the roots or leaves increased the biomass of newly grown leaves as well as the leaf contents of NO3 −, Z + ZR, and IP + IPA without increasing the root-to-shoot delivery of endogenous cytokinin. Interestingly, cytokinin directly added to the leaves also increased the biomass of newly grown leaves and their Z + ZR and IP + IPA contents, suggesting that nitrate-induced leaf cytokinin production mediates the growth-promoting effects of nitrate. We also found that cytokinin had a direct whereas NO3 − had an indirect effect on the biomass of newly grown leaves. Taken together, our results indicate that leaf cytokinin production induced by NO3 − absorbed through the roots plays a key role in continuous ryegrass regrowth after defoliation.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the “973” program (2007CB108904-4), the Postdoctoral Science Foundation of China (20090450619), the special Postdoctoral Science Foundation of China (201003183) in 2010, the innovation capability cultivation foundation in natural science of Henan University of Science and technology (2012ZCX007).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093, China

    Xiao-Ling Wang & Zhen-Qing Li

  2. College of Agronomy, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, 471003, Henan, China

    Xiao-Ling Wang & Jia Wang

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  1. Xiao-Ling Wang
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Correspondence to Zhen-Qing Li.

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Wang, XL., Wang, J. & Li, ZQ. Correlation of continuous ryegrass regrowth with cytokinin induced by root nitrate absorption. J Plant Res 126, 685–697 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10265-013-0574-2

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