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Plant Biol (Stuttg) 2006; 8(4): 522-528
DOI: 10.1055/s-2006-923877
Short Research Paper

Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart KG · New York

Role of AMT1;1 in NH4 + Acquisition in Arabidopsis thaliana

M. Mayer1 , U. Ludewig1
  • 1Zentrum für Molekularbiologie der Pflanzen (ZMBP), Pflanzenphysiologie, Universität Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 1, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
Weitere Informationen

Publikationsverlauf

Received: September 14, 2005

Accepted: January 10, 2006

Publikationsdatum:
13. März 2006 (online)

   Lizenzen und Reprints

Abstract

AtAMT1;1 was the founding member of the family of AMT/Rh ammonium transporters and accounts for about one third of the total ammonium absorption in the roots of the model plant Arabidopsis. Recent evidence suggested that at least some AMT/Rh proteins are NH3 gas channels. In order to evaluate the transported form of ammonium in AtAMT1;1, the protein was functionally expressed in Xenopus oocytes. AtAMT1;1 elicited NH4 + and methylammonium (MeA+) inward currents that saturated in a voltage-dependent manner with a half maximal concentration of 2.7 ± 1.6 µM for NH4 + and 5.0 ± 0.7 µM for the transport analogue methylammonium. AtAMT1;1 was plasma membrane localized and expressed in the root cortex and epidermis, including root hairs. The AtAMT1;1-GFP fusion construct under control of its endogenous promoter revealed additional localization of the protein in the pericycle, in the leaf epidermis, and in mesophyll cells. The functional data and its localization suggest that AtAMT1;1 participates in concentrative NH4 + acquisition in roots, in long-distance transport to the shoots, and in re-uptake of apoplastic NH4 + that derives from photorespiration in shoots.

Key words

Nitrogen - ammonia toxicity - rhesus glycoprotein - gas channel

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U. Ludewig

Zentrum für Molekularbiologie der Pflanzen (ZMBP)
Pflanzenphysiologie
Universität Tübingen

Auf der Morgenstelle 1

72076 Tübingen

Germany

eMail: uwe.ludewig@zmbp.uni-tuebingen.de

Editor: M. Hawkesford

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