Summary
This narrative review synthesises current understanding of the complete nitrogen journey in plants, from soil uptake through root transporters to metabolic incorporation via glutamine synthetase and glutamate synthase pathways. The authors examine how plants fine-tune nitrogen metabolism in response to environmental stresses—particularly drought and salinity—and discuss the role of nitric oxide as a stress mediator. The review concludes that exploiting diazotrophic microbiota and genomic approaches to enhance nitrogen fixation capacity offers promising strategies to reduce synthetic fertiliser dependence whilst maintaining plant productivity.
Regional applicability
The physiological mechanisms described are broadly applicable to crop systems globally, including the United Kingdom. However, the review does not discuss region-specific agronomic conditions, soil types, or climate factors relevant to UK farming practice; transferability of microbiota-based nitrogen fixation strategies would require validation under UK environmental and soil conditions.
Key measures
Structural and functional characteristics of nitrate and ammonium transporters; isoforms of glutamine synthetase and glutamate synthase; nitric oxide signalling under drought and salinity stress; nitrogen fixation capacity via diazotrophic microbiota
Outcomes reported
The study synthesised evidence on plant nitrogen uptake and assimilation mechanisms, including transporter structures and nitrogen metabolism pathways. It examined how plants regulate nitrogen metabolism under stress conditions and explored microbial-plant nitrogen interactions as alternatives to synthetic fertiliser use.
Topic tags
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