Understanding Nitrate Assimilation and Its Regulation in Microalgae

Overview

Journal Front Plant Sci

Date 2015 Nov 19

PMID 26579149

Citations 74

Authors

Emanuel Sanz-Luque

Alejandro Chamizo-Ampudia

Angel Llamas

Aurora Galvan

Emilio Fernandez

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Nitrate assimilation is a key process for nitrogen (N) acquisition in green microalgae. Among Chlorophyte algae, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii has resulted to be a good model system to unravel important facts of this process, and has provided important insights for agriculturally relevant plants. In this work, the recent findings on nitrate transport, nitrate reduction and the regulation of nitrate assimilation are presented in this and several other algae. Latest data have shown nitric oxide (NO) as an important signal molecule in the transcriptional and posttranslational regulation of nitrate reductase and inorganic N transport. Participation of regulatory genes and proteins in positive and negative signaling of the pathway and the mechanisms involved in the regulation of nitrate assimilation, as well as those involved in Molybdenum cofactor synthesis required to nitrate assimilation, are critically reviewed.

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