Abstract
Nitrogen and sulfur are essential for crop growth and quality, because both are needed for amino acid and protein synthesis. The organic N/S ratio on a molar basis is usually about 20. Plants, therefore, must have mechanisms to coordinate sulfur and nitrogen uptake and assimilation so that appropriate proportions of sulfur containing and other amino acids are available for protein synthesis. Experiments with vegetable crop plants grown at non-limiting nutrient supply showed that the uptake rates of nitrate and sulfate by the root are related to the growth rate of the plant. Reduced nitrogen and sulfur compounds as glutamine, glutathione and O-acetyl-L-serine, and/or nitrate and sulfate, might act signal molecules in regulation of the uptake of nitrate and sulfate. However, there is no evidence for a direct linkage between the uptake of nitrate and sulfate.
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Stulen, I., De Kok, L.J. (2012). Foreword: Exploring Interactions Between Sulfate and Nitrate Uptake at a Whole Plant Level. In: De Kok, L., et al. Sulfur Metabolism in Plants. Proceedings of the International Plant Sulfur Workshop, vol 1. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4450-9_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4450-9_1
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