Abstract
IN the process of absorption by plant roots, different ions may compete with each other, may fail to compete, or finally, one kind of ion may increase the rate of absorption of another. These specificities are considered due to the existence of specific binding sites on carriers which transport the ions across cellular membranes. Examples of mutually competing ions are the pairs potassium–rubidium1 and calcium–strontium2. Neither sodium nor lithium competes readily for the potassium–rubidium sites, at low to moderate concentrations, and magnesium is bound loosely if at all by the sites which transport calcium and strontium.
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References
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EPSTEIN, E. Calcium–Lithium Competition in Absorption by Plant Roots. Nature 185, 705–706 (1960). https://doi.org/10.1038/185705a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/185705a0
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