Expression of Nitrate and Nitrite Reductase Activities under Various Forms of Nitrogen Nutrition in Phaseolus vulgaris L.

The main objectives of this work were to study the effect of different N sources on plant growth, N accumulation, and on the expression of nitrate reductase activity in Phaseolus vulgaris L. leaves. Plants were grown under greenhouse conditions (15 to 25 kilolux; 16/8 hour day/night cycles) in plastic pots filled with perlite: vermiculite (1:1) and watered daily with a minus N solution (N(2) plants) or supplemented with either KNO(3), (NH(4))(2)SO(4), or urea as combined N sources.Significant levels of nitrate reductase activity in trifoliolate leaves of N(2)-, NH(4) (+)-, urea-, or NO(3) (-)-dependent plants was demonstrated throughout this work. Leaves from the urea- or NH(4) (+)-grown plants accumulated NO(2) (-) in the dark but not in the light when NO(2) (-) was supplied by vacuum infiltration. These results indicated that the potential for reduction of NO(3) (-) or NO(2) (-) was not impaired by growing the plants on NH(4) (+) or urea and, in addition, provided evidence for the occurrence of a non-nitrate-inducible nitrite reductase. The nitrate reductase activities associated with N(2)-, NH(4) (+)-, or urea-dependent plants are tentatively regarded as ;constitutive' to differentiate from the widely occurring NO(3) (-)-inducible nitrate reductase activity.Plants grown on NO(3) (-) or urea accumulated significantly larger amounts of reduced N and dry matter as compared to NH(4) (+)- and N(2)-dependent plants. Regardless of N treatment, or size of plants, about 50% of the N accumulated by the plant was allocated to the leaves.