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Functional Plant Biology Functional Plant Biology Society
Plant function and evolutionary biology
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Transient increase of de novo amino acid synthesis and its physiological significance in water-stressed white clover

Bok-Rye Lee A , Woo-Jin Jung B , Kil-Yong Kim C , Jean-Christophe Avice D , Alain Ourry D and Tae-Hwan Kim A E
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Department of Animal Science, Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology, College of Agriculture and Life Science, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 500-757, Korea.

B Glucosamine Saccharide Materials Laboratory (NRL), Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 500-757, Korea.

C Department of Biological and Environmental Chemistry, College of Agriculture and Life Science, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 500-757, Korea.

D UMR, INRA–UCBN, Écophysiologie Végétale, Agronomie et Nutritions NCS, Institut de Biologie Fondamentale et Appliquée, Université de Caen, F-14032 Caen Cedex, France.

E Corresponding author. Email: grassl@chonnam.ac.kr

Functional Plant Biology 32(9) 831-838 https://doi.org/10.1071/FP05022
Submitted: 28 January 2005  Accepted: 25 May 2005   Published: 26 August 2005

Abstract

In white clover (Trifolium repens L. cv. Regal) the kinetics of de novo synthesis of amino acid and protein were compared by tracing 15N under well-watered (control) or water-deficit conditions. The physiological relationship between ammonia concentration, in response to the change in leaf water parameters, and de novo synthesis of amino acid and protein was also assessed. Leaf and root dry mass were not significantly affected for the first 3 d, whereas metabolic parameters such as total N and ammonia were significantly affected within the first day of water-deficit treatment. Inhibitory effect of water deficit on N acquisition from the soil was significant throughout the experimental period. Water deficit induced a significant increase in ammonia concentration in leaves during the first 3 d, and in roots for only the first day. In both leaves and roots, an increase in de novo amino acid synthesis, which peaked in leaves within the first 3 d of water-deficit treatment (Ψw ≥ –1.18 MPa), was observed. The rate of decrease in de novo protein synthesis gradually accelerated as the duration of the water-deficit treatment increased. There was a significant positive relationship between ammonia production and the increase in de novo amino acid synthesis during the first 3-d period, but not during the later period (day 3–day 7). This experiment clearly indicates that the increase in de novo amino acid synthesis caused by water deficit is a transient adaptive response occurring during the first few days and that it is associated with the increased ammonia concentrations, which in turn arise in response to a decrease in de novo protein synthesis.

Keywords: amino acid synthesis, ammonia, continuous 15N feeding, protein, water deficit.


Acknowledgments

The work was supported by the Korea Research Foundation Grant (KRF-2002-013-G000008). We thank Miss M.P. Henry for isotopic analysis.


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