The protein NRT1.1 transports nitrate ions into plants over a wide range of concentrations. Two studies provide structural insight into this unusual behaviour, but give different explanations for it.

The gene MADS27, which regulates nitrate absorption, root development and stress tolerance, is activated by the micro-RNA, miR444, therefore offers a way to control these properties of the plant.

Plants utilise nitrate or ammonium in the environment ... soil and water contains low amounts of ammonium and nitrate ions, suggesting the existence of a negative regulator dependent on these ...

Fertilisers containing nitrate ions (NO 3-) not only contain an essential ... you often find that the fertiliser is classified according to which plant it can improve the best.

The excess accumulation of soluble salts, especially sodium chloride (NaCl), in the root zone severely impedes plant growth, reducing crop productivity. Although chloride ions (Cl-) are essential ...

Led by Prof. Dr. Markus Schwarzländer oft he University Münster, an inter-university team recently discovered how calcium ions find their way into the mitochondria of plant cells. The vital ...

"They operate as pumps, moving molecules and ions around, they transform one molecule into another, they separate the DNA and do the details of the copying." And because plants need nitrogen to ...

To verify that an influx of Ca 2+ into cells triggers the folding, the researchers treated leaves with a solution containing lanthanum ions, which block calcium channels, and saw that the plants ...