Regulation of high-affinity nitrate uptake in roots of Arabidopsis depends predominantly on posttranscriptional control of the NRT2.1/NAR2.1 transport system.

In Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), the NRT2.1 gene codes for the main component of the root nitrate (NO(3)(-)) high-affinity transport system (HATS). Due to the strong correlation generally found between high-affinity root NO(3)(-) influx and NRT2.1 mRNA level, it has been postulated that transcriptional regulation of NRT2.1 is a key mechanism for modulation of the HATS activity. However, this hypothesis has never been demonstrated, and is challenged by studies suggesting the occurrence of posttranscriptional regulation at the NRT2.1 protein level. To unambiguously clarify the respective roles of transcriptional and posttranscriptional regulations of NRT2.1, we generated transgenic lines expressing a functional 35S::NRT2.1 transgene in an atnrt2.1 mutant background. Despite a high and constitutive NRT2.1 transcript accumulation in the roots, the HATS activity was still down-regulated in the 35S::NRT2.1 transformants in response to repressive nitrogen or dark treatments that strongly reduce NRT2.1 transcription and NO(3)(-) HATS activity in the wild type. In some treatments, this was associated with a decline of NRT2.1 protein abundance, indicating posttranscriptional regulation of NRT2.1. However, in other instances, NRT2.1 protein level remained constant. Changes in abundance of NAR2.1, a partner protein of NRT2.1, closely followed those of NRT2.1, and thus could not explain the close-to-normal regulation of the HATS in the 35S::NRT2.1 transformants. Even if in certain conditions the transcriptional regulation of NRT2.1 contributes to a limited extent to the control of the HATS, we conclude from this study that posttranscriptional regulation of NRT2.1 and/or NAR2.1 plays a predominant role in the control of the NO(3)(-) HATS in Arabidopsis.

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