Abstract
In plants high affinity transport proteins mediate the essential transport of ammonium across membranes. In Arabidopsis thaliana six of these AMmonium Transporters (AMTs) are encoded by the genome. All of them show a unique expression pattern. While most AMTs are highly expressed in the root, AtAMT1;4 expression is limited to the pollen grains and the pollen tube. Here, we addressed the transport characteristics of AtAMT1;4 in the heterologous Xenopus laevis oocytes system. The transport saturated and showed high affinity for ammonium with a Km value lower than 10 µM. Based on our electrophysiological analysis, we classified AtAMT1;4 as a high affinity ammonium transporter.
Highlights
To meet the requirements for fast and sufficient nitrogen uptake and distribution within the organism, several distinct transport proteins for ammonium have evolved in the plant Arabidopsis thaliana (Neuhäuser et al 2007)
Six of these AMmonium Transporters (AMTs) are encoded by the Arabidopsis genome, all of them showing diverse localization pointing to specialized functions in the process of ammonium distribution throughout the plant (Yuan 2007)
Due to the high external ammonium supply, no change in transport direction was expected in all tested voltages
Summary
To meet the requirements for fast and sufficient nitrogen uptake and distribution within the organism, several distinct transport proteins for ammonium have evolved in the plant Arabidopsis thaliana (Neuhäuser et al 2007). Six of these AMmonium Transporters (AMTs) are encoded by the Arabidopsis genome, all of them showing diverse localization pointing to specialized functions in the process of ammonium distribution throughout the plant (Yuan 2007).
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