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Nitrogen-utilization efficiency during early deficiency after a luxury consumption is improved by sustaining nitrate reductase activity and photosynthesis in cotton plants

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Abstract

Aims

Understanding mechanisms underlying N use efficiency (NUE) after luxury consumption and nitrate deprivation is crucial to crop productivity. The aim was to elucidate the importance of photosynthesis, assimilatory nitrate reduction and N-reserve remobilization to NUE in cotton.

Methods

Plants were exposed to three conditions in nutrient solution: (a) previous exposure to high nitrate supply (10 mM) for long-term (8 days); (b) nitrate deprivation (NO3− withdrawal) for 8 days followed by (c) an early N-deficiency for 4 days.

Results

Plants supplied with nitrate excess were able to display increment in shoot NUE related to dry matter gain, whereas photosynthetic N use efficiency did not change, evidencing that excess N per se was not able to improve CO2 assimilation. Nitrate reductase (NR) activity was crucial to remobilize stored nitrate through deprivation phase and free amino acids, total proteins, and chlorophylls were also essential to N-remobilization. High NUE was important to kept high root growth rates throughout deprivation and early deficiency phases. Despite the great decrease in chlorophyll content, PSII and PSI activities were kept stable until the onset of early N-deficiency, when cotton plants displayed high shoot NUE.

Conclusions

These responses are closely associated with high NR activity and sustaining of photosynthesis, which contribute to N-homeostasis in different nutritional regimes.

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Abbreviations

Y(NA):

Acceptor side limitation of PSI

Chl:

Chlorophyll

Y(ND):

Donor side limitation of PSI

Y(II):

Effective quantum yield of PSII

AA:

Free amino acids

Fm:

Maximum fluorescence in the dark

Fv/Fm:

Maximum potential quantum yield of PSII

Fo:

Minimum fluorescence in the dark

NUE:

N use efficiency

PN :

Net CO2 assimilation

NR:

Nitrate reductase

Y(I):

Effective quantum yield of PSI

qP:

Photochemical quenching coefficient

PNUE:

Photosynthetic activity per N unity in leaves

PPFD:

Photosynthetic photon flux density

TSS:

Total soluble sugars

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES), National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico – CNPq), INCT Plant Stress Biotech (Conselho de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico) Proc. 465480/2014-4 and Fundação Cearense de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (FUNCAP) for funding. FELC is supported by FUNCAP/CAPES (Bolsista CAPES/BRASIL – Proc. 88887.162856/2018-00). AKML is supported by CNPq (Proc. 154471/2018-6).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Plant Metabolism, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Federal University of Ceará, Fortaleza, Brazil

    Eliezer A. Guilherme, Cristiano S. Nascimento, Ana K. M. Lobo, Fabricio E. L. Carvalho & Joaquim A. G. Silveira

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  1. Eliezer A. Guilherme
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  2. Cristiano S. Nascimento
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  3. Ana K. M. Lobo
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  4. Fabricio E. L. Carvalho
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  5. Joaquim A. G. Silveira
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Correspondence to Fabricio E. L. Carvalho or Joaquim A. G. Silveira.

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Guilherme, E.A., Nascimento, C.S., Lobo, A.K.M. et al. Nitrogen-utilization efficiency during early deficiency after a luxury consumption is improved by sustaining nitrate reductase activity and photosynthesis in cotton plants. Plant Soil 443, 185–198 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-019-04214-7

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