REVIEW article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Nutrition
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2025.1634119
This article is part of the Research TopicExploring Mechanisms and Alleviation Strategies for Ammonium Toxicity in Plants, with a Focus on Abiotic Stress InteractionsView all articles
Functional crosstalk between nitrate and ammonium in reciprocal N acquisition and pH homeostasis
Provisionally accepted
- 1Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Gatersleben, Germany
- 2Universidad Publica de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
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In quantitative terms, nitrogen (N) is the most important essential mineral element for plants, acquired mainly in the form of ammonium (NH4 + ) and nitrate (NO3 -). Despite fluctuations in soil NH4 + and NO3 -availability, plants seek to balance their NH4 + -to-NO3 - uptake ratio to avoid the metabolic burden associated with the compensation of an intracellular proton excess or deficit. However, while the molecular mechanisms by which plants mediate and modulate the activity of their uptake systems for NO3 -and NH4 + have been well characterized, it has remained unclear to what extent these transport systems could interact. In this review, the potential contributions of AMTs and NRT1.1 to the overall acquisition of N are highlighted. Both NO3 --independent and -dependent signaling of NRT1.1 in modulating NH4 + tolerance, as well as the underestimated role of AMTs in nutrient and cellular pH homeostasis, are discussed. The interdependency between AMTs and NRT1.1 is considered highly relevant for optimized N uptake in field conditions, where both N forms typically coexist and act complementarily to maintain balanced pH and nutrient homeostasis for optimal plant growth.
Keywords: ammonium, AMTs, CIPK23, low pH, Nitrate signalling, NRT1.1, SLAH3, STOP1
Received: 23 May 2025; Accepted: 09 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Rivero-Marcos. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Mikel Rivero-Marcos, Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Gatersleben, Germany
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