TY - JOUR
T1 - Biotechnology of nutrient uptake and assimilation in plants
AU - López-Arredondo, Damar L.
AU - Leyva-González, Marco A.
AU - Alatorre-Cobos, Fulgencio
AU - Herrera-Estrella, Luis
PY - 2013
Y1 - 2013
N2 - Plants require a complex balance of mineral nutrients to reproduce successfully. Because the availability of many of these nutrients in the soil is compromised by several factors, such as soil pH, cation presence, and microbial activity, crop plants depend directly on nutrients applied as fertilizers to achieve high yields. However, the excessive use of fertilizers is a major environmental concern due to nutrient leaching that causes water eutrophication and promotes toxic algae blooms. This situation generates the urgent need for crop plants with increased nutrient use efficiency and better-designed fertilization schemes. The plant biology revolution triggered by the development of efficient gene transfer systems for plant cells together with the more recent development of next-generation DNA and RNA sequencing and other omics platforms have advanced considerably our understanding on the molecular basis of plant nutrition and how plants respond to nutritional stress. To date, genes encoding sensors, transcription factors, transporters, and metabolic enzymes have been identified as potential candidates to improve nutrient use efficiency. In addition, the study of other genetic resources, such as bacteria and fungi, allows the identification of alternative mechanisms of nutrient assimilation, which are potentially applicable in plants. Although significant progress in this respect has been achieved by conventional breeding, in this review we focus on the biotechnological approaches reported to date aimed at boosting the use of the three most limiting nutrients in the majority of arable lands: nitrogen, phosphorus, and iron.
AB - Plants require a complex balance of mineral nutrients to reproduce successfully. Because the availability of many of these nutrients in the soil is compromised by several factors, such as soil pH, cation presence, and microbial activity, crop plants depend directly on nutrients applied as fertilizers to achieve high yields. However, the excessive use of fertilizers is a major environmental concern due to nutrient leaching that causes water eutrophication and promotes toxic algae blooms. This situation generates the urgent need for crop plants with increased nutrient use efficiency and better-designed fertilization schemes. The plant biology revolution triggered by the development of efficient gene transfer systems for plant cells together with the more recent development of next-generation DNA and RNA sequencing and other omics platforms have advanced considerably our understanding on the molecular basis of plant nutrition and how plants respond to nutritional stress. To date, genes encoding sensors, transcription factors, transporters, and metabolic enzymes have been identified as potential candidates to improve nutrient use efficiency. In addition, the study of other genetic resources, such as bacteria and fungi, allows the identification of alternative mechanisms of nutrient assimilation, which are potentially applicable in plants. Although significant progress in this respect has been achieved by conventional breeding, in this review we focus on the biotechnological approaches reported to date aimed at boosting the use of the three most limiting nutrients in the majority of arable lands: nitrogen, phosphorus, and iron.
KW - Bacterial gene
KW - Biotechnology
KW - Gene overexpression
KW - Grain yield
KW - Macronutrients
KW - Plant nutrition
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84886920776&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1387/ijdb.130268lh
DO - 10.1387/ijdb.130268lh
M3 - Review article
C2 - 24166442
AN - SCOPUS:84886920776
SN - 0214-6282
VL - 57
SP - 595
EP - 610
JO - International Journal of Developmental Biology
JF - International Journal of Developmental Biology
IS - 6-8
ER -