ArticleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2008
Plants can use protein as a nitrogen source without assistance from other organisms.
Article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2008. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 75 papers.
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Who cites it
75 citing papers in PubMed, 343 citations in OpenAlex.
- Protists are key players in the utilization of protein nitrogen in the arbuscular mycorrhizal hyphosphere.The New phytologist · 2025Article
- Plant organic nitrogen nutrition: costs, benefits, and carbon use efficiency.The New phytologist · 2025Article
- Lysozyme-coated nanoparticles for active uptake and delivery of synthetic RNA and plasmid-encoded genes in plants.Nature plants · 2025Article
- Synergistic growth suppression of Fusarium oxysporum MLY127 through Dimethachlon Nanoencapsulation and co-application with Bacillus velezensis MLY71.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Host genotype, soil composition, and geo-climatic factors shape the fonio seed microbiome.Microbiome · 2024Article
- Ammonia leakage can underpin nitrogen-sharing among soil microorganisms.The ISME journal · 2024Article
- Plants as vectors for environmental prion transmission.iScience · 2023Article
- Knocking OutInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
- Spectroscopic Analyses Highlight Plant Biostimulant Effects of Baker's Yeast Vinasse and Selenium on Cabbage through Foliar Fertilization.Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Antibacterial and Antibiofilm Effects of Allelopathic Compounds Identified inMolecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Invasiveness, Monitoring and Control ofPlants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Article
- Effects of Exogenous L-Asparagine on Poplar Biomass Partitioning and Root Morphology.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Article
- Rapid Detection of Available Nitrogen in Soil by Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Article
- To have or not to have: expression of amino acid transporters during pathogen infection.Plant molecular biology · 2022Review
- The importance of utilizing nitrate (NOEnvironmental science and pollution research international · 2022Article
- Comprehensive analysis of theFrontiers in plant science · 2022Article
- The Differences between the Effects of a Nanoformulation and a Conventional Form of Atrazine to Lettuce: Physiological Responses, Defense Mechanisms, and Nutrient Displacement.Journal of agricultural and food chemistry · 2021Article
- Molecular Regulatory Networks for Improving Nitrogen Use Efficiency in Rice.International journal of molecular sciences · 2021Review
- Root-Derived Proteases as a Plant Tool to Access Soil Organic Nitrogen; Current Stage of Knowledge and Controversies.Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Review
15 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Nitrogen is quantitatively the most important nutrient that plants acquire from the soil. It is well established that plant roots take up nitrogen compounds of low molecular mass, including ammonium, nitrate, and amino acids. However, in the soil of natural ecosystems, nitrogen occurs predominantly as proteins. This complex organic form of nitrogen is considered to be not directly available to plants. We examined the long-held view that plants depend on specialized symbioses with fungi (mycorrhizas) to access soil protein and studied the woody heathland plant Hakea actites and the herbaceous model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, which do not form mycorrhizas. We show that both species can use protein as a nitrogen source for growth without assistance from other organisms. We identified two mechanisms by which roots access protein. Roots exude proteolytic enzymes that digest protein at the root surface and possibly in the apoplast of the root cortex. Intact protein also was taken up into root cells most likely via endocytosis. These findings change our view of the spectrum of nitrogen sources that plants can access and challenge the current paradigm that plants rely on microbes and soil fauna for the breakdown of organic matter.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.