Newly unearthed mechanism that helps plants 'feel full' could help crops use fertilizer more efficiently
New York University researchers have pinpointed the molecular players responsible for plants "feeling full" once they've taken up enough nitrogen—a finding that could help scientists develop plants that absorb more nitrogen from the soil and allow farmers to reduce environmentally and economically costly fertilizer applications.
Researchers at New York University have discovered a molecular mechanism that allows plants to sense when they have absorbed enough nitrogen. This finding could lead to the development of crops that use fertilizer more efficiently, reducing the environmental impact of nitrogen applications. The study, published in The Plant Cell, identifies a protein called HHO5 that plays a key role in regulating nitrogen uptake and assimilation in plants.
By tweaking the levels of HHO5, scientists could potentially engineer plants that absorb more nitrogen from the soil, leaving less for leaching into water supplies and reducing the production of greenhouse gases like nitrous oxide.
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