Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39972035›Full record

ArticleNature communications2025

Structural basis of urea transport by Arabidopsis thaliana DUR3.

Weidong An, Yiwei Gao, Laihua Liu, Qinru Bai, Jun Zhao, Yan Zhao, Xuejun C Zhang

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Weidong An *Peking University Institute of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, Shandong Laboratory of Advanced Agricultural Sciences at Weifang, Weifang, Shandong, China.
Yiwei Gao *National Laboratory of Biomacromolecules, CAS Center for Excellence in Biomacromolecules, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8169-9332
Laihua Liu *Department of Plant Nutrition, Key Laboratory of Plant and Soil Interactions of MEoC, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China.
Qinru BaiNational Laboratory of Biomacromolecules, CAS Center for Excellence in Biomacromolecules, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Jun ZhaoPeking University Institute of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, Shandong Laboratory of Advanced Agricultural Sciences at Weifang, Weifang, Shandong, China. jun.zhao@pku-iaas.edu.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0006-6190-0469
Yan ZhaoNational Laboratory of Biomacromolecules, CAS Center for Excellence in Biomacromolecules, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. zhaoy@ibp.ac.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4348-256X
Xuejun C ZhangNational Laboratory of Biomacromolecules, CAS Center for Excellence in Biomacromolecules, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. zhangc@ibp.ac.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6726-3698

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) 92157102University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences) 2022kf09
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Urea is a primary nitrogen source used as fertilizer in agricultural plant production and a crucial nitrogen metabolite in plants, playing an essential role in modern agriculture. In plants, DUR3 is a proton-driven high-affinity urea transporter located on the plasma membrane. It not only absorbs external low-concentration urea as a nutrient but also facilitates nitrogen transfer by recovering urea from senescent leaves. Despite its importance, the high-affinity urea transport mechanism in plants remains insufficiently understood. In this study, we determine the structures of Arabidopsis thaliana DUR3 in two different conformations: the inward-facing open state of the apo structure and the occluded urea-bound state, with overall resolutions of 2.8 Å and 3.0 Å, respectively. By comparing these structures and analyzing their functional characteristics, we elucidated how urea molecules are specifically recognized. In the urea-bound structure, we identified key titratable amino acid residues and proposed a model for proton involvement in urea transport based on structural and functional data. This study enhances our understanding of proton-driven urea transport mechanisms in DUR3.

Indexed as

ArabidopsisArabidopsis ProteinsMembrane Transport ProteinsUreaBiological TransportCrystallography, X-RayModels, MolecularProtein ConformationProtonsUrea TransportersArabidopsis ProteinsMembrane Transport ProteinsProtonsUreaUrea Transporters

Identifiers

PMID39972035
PMCPMC11840088

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.