Proteins as nitrogen source for plants

Abstract

Interest in the problem of plant nitrogen nutrition is increasing. Certain plants can use not only inorganic nitrogen, but also intact amino acids and short peptides. According to our studies, the roots of several agricultural and wild-living plants are able to exude proteases and use them to create a pool of accessible N. This mini-review offers an overview of the problem of protease exudation by plant roots and its potential role in plant nitrogen nutrition. © 2010 Landes Bioscience.