ArticlePlant and soil2020
Do plants use root-derived proteases to promote the uptake of soil organic nitrogen?
Article in Plant and soil, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 37 citations in OpenAlex.
- Metagenomic insights reveal the impact of natural farming on soil nutrients, enzyme activities, microbial communities, and yield in turmeric cultivation.BMC plant biology · 2025Article
- A potential COJournal of advanced research · 2025Article
- Root Exudates in Soilless Culture Conditions.Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Contribution of arbuscular mycorrhiza and exoenzymes to nitrogen acquisition of sorghum under drought.Frontiers in plant science · 2025Article
- Fitness and Hard Seededness of FPlants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Contrasting distribution of enzyme activities in the rhizosphere of European beech and Norway spruce.Frontiers in plant science · 2022Article
- Root-Derived Proteases as a Plant Tool to Access Soil Organic Nitrogen; Current Stage of Knowledge and Controversies.Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
aimsThe capacity of plant roots to directly acquire organic nitrogen (N) in the form of oligopeptides and amino acids from soil is well established. However, plants have poor access to protein, the central reservoir of soil organic N. Our question is: do plants actively secrete proteases to enhance the breakdown of soil protein or are they functionally reliant on soil microorganisms to undertake this role?
methodsGrowing maize and wheat under sterile hydroponic conditions with and without inorganic N, we measured protease activity on the root surface (root-bound proteases) or exogenously in the solution (free proteases). We compared root protease activities to the rhizosphere microbial community to estimate the ecological significance of root-derived proteases.
resultsWe found little evidence for the secretion of free proteases, with almost all protease activity associated with the root surface. Root protease activity was not stimulated under N deficiency. Our findings suggest that cereal roots contribute one-fifth of rhizosphere protease activity.
conclusionsOur results indicate that plant N uptake is only functionally significant when soil protein is in direct contact with root surfaces. The lack of protease upregulation under N deficiency suggests that root protease activity is unrelated to enhanced soil N capture.
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Registered trials
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