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Nitrate Uptake and Induction of Nitrate Reductase in Excised Corn Roots ¹

^a Department of Agronomy, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois 61801

The characteristics of nitrate uptake and induction of nitrate reductase were studied in excised roots of corn (Zea mays L.). Upon initial exposure to nitrate, the low initial rate of nitrate uptake gradually increased until a steady uptake rate was achieved in 1 to 2 hours depending on the NO₃^– concentration. The pattern was observed over a wide range (0.2-5 mM) of nitrate concentrations and was independent of the accompanying cation.

The nitrate uptake pattern as a function of increasing external nitrate concentrations (0.2-50 mM) followed saturation type kinetics. The reciprocal plot of the data was not linear but hyperbolic, indicating that more than one Km for nitrate uptake can be resolved from the data. This suggests the existence of either one carrier system with changing kinetic constants or the existence of dual uptake systems. The pattern of induction of nitrate reductase was coincident with the pattern of nitrate uptake as a function of time and increasing nitrate concentrations. The rate of induction of nitrate reductase was regulated by the rate of nitrate flux.

Washing the roots for 2 hours enhances nitrate uptake by 2.5-fold over the nonwashed tissue. The presence of nitrate in the washing solution leads to further (3.5-fold over control) increases in the rate of nitrate uptake supporting the contention that nitrate plays a specific role in the induction of the inducible nitrate carrier independent of the washing effect.

¹ This work was supported in part by Hatch funds, a Farmland Industries grant, and a grant from the Frasch Foundation. C.A.N. gratefully acknowledges the assistance of a fellowship grant from MUCIA-Universidad Agraria, La Molina, Peru.

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